Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are sugar-modified products that arise during the non-enzymatic glucose oxidation process. AGEs promote oxidative stress and are associated with poor diabetes mellitus (DM) control, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease.

Objective: to evaluate AGEs accumulation in the diabetic patients‘ skin and its relationship with DM type, disease duration, and complications.

Methods: 116 patients (19-85 years, 66 females and 50 males) with type 2 (T2DM) and type 1 (T1DM) DM, were enrolled in the study during the 2022 year. AGEs were measured non-invasively using an AGE Reader device (DiagnOptics Technologies B.V., SN 00010604, The Netherlands). Patients filled out questionnaires about diabetes and data on diabetes type, duration, and control were collected from medical records. Patients were divided into groups according to: DM types, disease duration (<15 (n=61) and ≥15 (n=54) years), microvascular DM complications (with ≥1 microvascular complication (n=72) and without (n=43)), macrovascular DM complications (with ≥1 complication (n=24) and without (n=92)).

Results: 50 T1DM (30 females and 20 males; age 40±12.4 SD years; DM duration 18.8±0.495 SD years) and 60 T2DM (36 females and 30 males; age 63.4±9.4 SD years; DM duration 11.6±8.4 SD years) participated in the study. A significantly higher mean AGEs concentration was found in T2DM vs T1DM patient group (2.4±0.4 SD vs 2.2±0.5 SD, respectively, P=0.011). Also, higher mean levels of AGEs were found in patients with longer duration of DM (≥15 years) (2.2±0.4 SD vs 2.4±0.4 SD, respectively, P=0.047). No significant difference in AGEs concentration between the groups of patients with and without microvascular complications was found (2.4±0.5 SD vs 2.3±0.4, P=0.327). However, a higher mean concentration of AGEs was observed in the group of patients with macrovascular DM complications (2.6±0.4 SD vs 2.3±0.4 SD, respectively, P=0.002).

Conclusion: A significantly higher AGEs accumulation was found in patients with T2DM, those with macrovascular complications, and longer than 15 years of disease duration. The presence of microvascular complications was not related to concentration.

Acknowledgments: The work was supported by the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 “The Baltic Research Programme”. No: EEA-RESEARCH-60