Association between central non-dipping pattern and platelet morphology in adults with type 1 diabetes without cardiovascular disease: a cross-sectional study

The non-dipping pattern is nighttime systolic blood pressure (SBP) fall of less than 10%. Several studies showed that the non-dipping pattern, increased mean platelet volume (MPV), and platelet distribution width (PDW) are associated with elevated cardiovascular risk. Hypertensives with the non-dipping pattern have higher MPV than the dippers but this relationship was never investigated among people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). This study aimed to investigate the association between the central dipping pattern and platelet morphology in T1DM subjects. We measured the central and brachial blood pressure with a validated non-invasive brachial oscillometric device—Arteriograph 24—during twenty-four-hour analysis in T1DM subjects without diagnosed hypertension. The group was divided based on the central dipping pattern for the dippers and the non-dippers. From a total of 62 subjects (32 males) aged 30.1 (25.7–37) years with T1DM duration 15.0 (9.0–20) years, 36 were non-dippers. The non-dipper group had significantly higher MPV (MPV (10.8 [10.3–11.5] vs 10.4 [10.0–10.7] fl; p = 0.041) and PDW (13.2 [11.7–14.9] vs 12.3 [11.7–12.8] fl; p = 0.029) than dipper group. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that MPV (OR 3.74; 95% CI 1.48–9.45; p = 0.005) and PDW (OR 1.91; 95% CI 1.22–3.00; p = 0.005) were positively associated with central non-dipping pattern adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, daily insulin intake, and height. MPV and PDW are positively associated with the central non-dipping pattern among people with T1DM.