Carotid Atherosclerosis In Newly Diagnosed Type 2 Individuals

It has been hypothesized, based on recent trials, that only early intervention can reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). This finding may imply that atherosclerosis at diabetes diagnosed, is either negligible, or at early, or non-advanced, still modifiable disease stage. However, sparse information is available regarding atherosclerosis prevalence and its characteristics at diabetes presentation. Furthermore, although cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention is the major goal of treatment in T2DM, risk assessment tools, mostly based on traditional CV risk factors, lack of adequate specificity to identify individuals at higher risk. Therefore, non-invasive tests, such as carotid ultrasound, have been recommended to better define CV risk in several groups of individuals, including those with intermediate risk or with T2DM. This clinical study aims to improve the investigators knowledge on cardiovascular disease (CVD) in subjects with newly diagnosed T2DM (NEWDM). The investigators hypothesis is that carotid ultrasound (carotid intimae media thickness \[CIMT\] and carotid plaque \[CP\]) will show a worse subclinical/preclinical CVD stage in NEWDM compared with non-diabetic (CONTROL) individuals. Moreover, carotid ultrasound will also identify T2DM individuals at a higher risk in whom intervention should be more intensive. Because individuals with T2DM have a higher prevalence of several CV risk factors, NEWDM will be matched with CONTROL individuals, not only for age and sex (the main determinants of atherosclerosis), but also for known, treated hypertension and dyslipidemia, and smoking habit. The investigators will study NEWDM and CONTROL individuals without clinical CVD. This is a cross-sectional and longitudinal (18 months of follow-up) case-control study. The main study variables will be carotid ultrasound derived variables. The main aims of the study are: 1) to investigate CIMT and CP prevalence differences be