Effects of comprehensive intensive therapies on the change of intima-media thickness of carotid arteries in type 2 diabetic patients: A report of 4-year follow-up with a literature review.

Background:The aim was to evaluate the effect of comprehensive intensive therapy on the carotid and femoral arteries of intima-media thickness in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus after 4-year follow-up.Methods:In this prospective 4-year study, patients (N = 210) with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes received either comprehensive intensive therapy (n = 110) or conventional therapy (n = 100). Blood pressure, blood glucose and lipid levels were monitored every 3–6 months, and carotid and femoral arteries of intima-media thickness were monitored with ultrasonography. For the literature review, various databases were searched until 20 December 2014 for studies that evaluated effects of intensive multi-factorial therapies on comprehensive intensive therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.Results:The comprehensive intensive therapy group had a smaller rate of carotid intima-media thickness increase than the conventional therapy (control) group (p < 0.05). The carotid intima-media thickness in comprehen...