Summary
The increased risk of vascular complications in type 1 diabetes may in part be explained
by changes in haemostatic function. In the present study, we investigated the fibrin
clot properties in patients with type 1 diabetes in relation to sex and microvascular
complications. The study included 236 patients (107 women) aged between 20–70 years
and without any history of cardiovascular disease. Fibrin clot properties, assessed
by determination of the permeability coefficient (Ks) and turbidimetric clotting and
lysis assays, did not differ between men and women. Compared with men, women had worse
glycaemic control as well as higher levels of prothrombin fragment 1+2 and peak thrombin
generation in vitro, indicating increased thrombin generation both in vivo and in vitro. Subgroup analyses of patients younger than 30 years revealed less permeable fibrin
clots and prolonged lysis time in females compared with age-matched men. Patients
with microvascular complications had higher fibrinogen concentrations and denser and
less permeable fibrin clots. Thus, we conclude that in vitro fibrin clot properties in patients with type 1 diabetes without cardiovascular disease
are not different between the sexes, but associate with prevalence of microvascular
complications. Tighter fibrin clot formation in younger women, as suggested by our
results, may affect their future cardiovascular risk and should be investigated in
a larger population.
Keywords
Fibrin clot - type 1 diabetes - microangiopathy