Left ventricular longitudinal systolic dysfunction in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: Children with type one diabetes mellitus (T1DM) may have subclinical myocardial insults but large heterogeneity exists among the reports. This study aimed to compare myocardial strain values of the left ventricle (LV) in paediatric patients with T1DM without overt cardiac disease and healthy controls.

Methods: Five databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane central register of controlled trials) were searched from inception to March 30, 2020. The studies reporting two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in asymptomatic T1DM paediatric patients and control groups were included. Pooled mean strain values in each group and mean difference (MD) between the two groups for LV global longitudinal strain (LVGLS) and LV global circumferential strain (LVGCS) were assessed using a random effects model.

Results: Ten studies (755 T1DM and 610 control) with LVGLS were included with 6 studies having LVGCS (534 T1DM and 403 control). Patients with T1DM had overall 3 percentage points lower LVGLS than healthy subjects (18.4 %, 95 % confidence interval [17.1, 19.6] vs 21.5 % [20.3, 22.7], MD = -3.01 [-4.30, -1.71]). A similar result was seen in LVGCS (18.7 % [15.4, 22.0] vs. 21.4 % [18.1, 24.6], MD = -3.10[-6.47, 0.26]) but not statistically significant. Meta-regression identified those with higher Haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) had worse GLS.

Conclusions: Subclinical LV dysfunction among patients with T1DM occurs as early as in their childhood, while even EF is preserved. The longitudinal cardiac function is altered, but not the circumferential. GLS can be used to detect subclinical LV systolic dysfunction in paediatric population.

Keywords: 2D-speckle tracking echocardiography; Diabetic cardiomyopathy; Mean difference; Meta-analysis; Myocardial strain; Type 1 diabetes mellitus.