Background: Resistin is an adipocyte-derived signaling polypeptide described in adipose tissue, which acts as a metabolic link between inflammation and atherosclerosis. This study aimed to assess the relation between right ventricular (RV) function assessed by echocardiography and resistin levels in recently diagnosed type-1 diabetic children.
Methods: The study was conducted as a prospective cohort study and it included 30 children with type-1 diabetes mellitus as a patient group and 30 healthy children matched for age and sex as controls. It evaluated RV functions by tissue Doppler imaging, speckle tracking imaging, and real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE), as well as assessing resistin serum level using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results: The left ventricle (LV) showed no significant difference between the two groups in E/A ratio across the mitral valve, ejection fraction, and S wave mitral annulus. However, it showed significant decrease in the E'/A' wave of mitral annulus, impairment of LV myocardial performance index (MPI), and decrease in LV EF measured by RT3DE in diabetic patients compared to the control group. Significant differences in the mean value of tricuspid annular systolic excursion (TASE), pulmonary artery pressure, longitudinal systolic strain (RV LSS), MPI, and RV ejection fraction were observed between the studied groups. Yet, no significant differences in E/A ratio and S value were observed between the two groups. Significant positive correlation of resistin level with age of studied group and significant negative correlation of resistin with both TASE and RV LSS values were also observed.
Conclusion: We confirmed the presence of subclinical RV systolic and diastolic dysfunction in type-1 diabetic children with positive correlation between resistin level and RV dysfunction among them.