Evaluation of endothelial dysfunction via flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) referring to medical centers in Kerman

Background: By examining flow-mediated dilation (FMD) as an index for indirect assessment of arterial endothelial function, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and early atherosclerosis.Methods: This study was performed on ۷۵ patients with ulcerative colitis, ۱۵ patients with Crohn's disease, and ۷۵ healthy individuals as the control group. Vascular endothelial function was assessed by flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and Doppler ultrasonography of the right brachial artery. Results: The mean FMD in the IBD patients (۱۲.۰۴±۳.۸) was lower than that of the persons in the control group (۱۶.۶۸±۲.۲). Besides, the mean FMD in Crohn's patients was ۱۲.۰۲±۳.۵ and the corresponding value in the patients with ulcerative colitis was ۱۲.۰۷±۴.۲, showing no significant difference (p = ۰.۷۸). There was a significant relationship between age and FMD in the control group so that with increasing age, FMD decreased (r = ۰.۶, p = ۰.۰۱). However, there was no association between age and FMD among IBD patients. Conclusion: Given that this study focused on people without known risk factors for atherosclerosis, the results pointed to endothelial dysfunction in IBD patients, and IBD can be considered as an independent factor in the development of atherosclerosis.

Keywords:

FMD , IBD , Atherosclerosis