The cold effects on circulatory inflammation, thrombosis and vasoconstriction in type 2 diabetic patients

Abstract

Short-term associations between temperature variation and adverse cardiovascular outcomes have been well documented. However, it remains unclear whether these temperature-related cardiovascular effects are reflected in circulating biomarkers. We aimed to examine the associations between ambient temperature and circulating biomarkers of inflammation, coagulation and vasoconstriction. We collected 207 blood samples from a panel of 35 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Sixteen biomarkers of inflammation, coagulation and vasoconstriction were repeatedly measured over six follow-ups. The short-term associations between air temperature and these biomarkers were assessed by mixed-effect models with controls of demographic characteristics and main air pollutants. We found significant and acute effects of temperature on circulatory biomarkers occurred as early as 3h after exposure, peaked at 25–48h and lasted until 72h after exposure. For example, a 1°C decrease in the 25–48h average of air temperature was associated with 2.2%–15.1% increases in biomarkers of inflammation, 1.4%–24.5% of coagulation and 8.2% of vasoconstriction. Our results provided significant evidence that a temperature decline results in a response in biomarkers of inflammation, coagulation and vasoconstriction biomarkers, suggesting them to be the potential biologic mechanisms underlying the cardiovascular effects of temperature variation, and may have implications for disease prevention.