Abstract title	Prevalence of Aortic Valve Sclerosis and associated factors among Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Cuba.
Background
Aortic valve sclerosis (AVS) is associated with an increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in Type 2 diabetic patients, independently of established risk factors.1There is limited global data on burden and risk factors for AVS; specifically epidemiology of AVS among diabetes mellitus patients in Cuba is not documented.
Aim
The aim of this study was to obtain the prevalence of aortic valve sclerosis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and as well determine association between AVS and sociodemographic and biochemical parameters.
Method
We conducted a cross- sectional study to identify the prevalence of AVS among asymptomatic Type 2 diabetic patients attending Dr. Carlos J. Finlay Hospital in Havana, Cuba from May 2010 to May 2012. A resting M- mode Echocardiography was performed in 79 type 2 diabetic patients without history of Hypertension, heart failure, valvular heart diseases or kidneys diseases.
For the purpose of this study, AVS was defined according to international guidelines as either focal or diffuse calcification of the aortic leaflets without significant obstruction to left ventricular outflow, with a trans-aortic peak instantaneous velocity <2.6 m/s.2 A comparison was made between patients with AVS and those without AVS to determine association with sociodemographic and biochemical parameters. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results
Aortic valve sclerosis was found in 18/79 (22.8%); and was significantly associated with elderly age (p < 0.001), and high level of total cholesterol (p < 0.04). Gender, body mass index, fasting blood sugar, post-postprandial glucose, triglycerides, HbA1c were not statistically associated with AVS.
Discussion
Aortic valve sclerosis was very common in type 2 diabetic patients without any other apparent cardiovascular disease and it appeared to correlate broadly to the elderly age and the high burden of hypercholesterolemia. Aggressive cholesterol reduction protocols are advocated in this setting. There is a high need to do a multicentric study to verify our findings in diabetic population.
References
1Rossi A, Targher G, Zoppini G, Cicoira M, Bonapace S, Negri C. Aortic and Mitral Annular Calcifications Are Predictive of All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care 2012; 35:1781–1786.
2Mantovani A , Pernigo M , Bergamini C , Bonapace S, Lipari P , Valbusad F et al. Heart valve calcification in patients with type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Metabolism and Clinical Experimental 2015; 64: 879-887.
Conflict of Interest
I have no potential conflict of interest to disclose

Prevalence of aortic valve sclerosis and associated factors among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Cuba