# Arterial structure and function in children with inflammatory bowel disease

## TL;DR

This study found no evidence of early arterial changes in children with inflammatory bowel disease that would indicate increased cardiovascular risk.

## Contribution

The study is the first to show that pediatric IBD does not yet cause measurable arterial dysfunction after a few years of disease duration.

## Key findings

- Children with IBD did not show differences in arterial structure or function compared to healthy controls.
- No significant differences were found between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients in arterial measurements.
- Early IBD diagnosis may still allow for interventions to reduce future cardiovascular risk.

## Abstract

People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including in younger adulthood. This may arise in part from chronic, systemic low‐grade inflammation. The process of atherosclerosis may begin in childhood. We sought to determine whether pediatric IBD is associated with adverse changes in arterial structure and function as a marker of early increased cardiovascular risk.

We performed a case–control study comparing children with IBD for a median disease duration of 2.49 (interquartile range 1.23, 4.38) years with healthy children. In a single visit, we collected baseline clinical and anthropometric data, and measured blood pressure, pulse wave velocity, carotid artery distensibility, and aortic and carotid intima‐media thickness. High‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein and fasting lipids were measured.

We enrolled 81 children with IBD (40 with Crohn's disease, 40 with ulcerative colitis, and 1 with unspecified IBD) and 82 control participants. After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index z‐score, blood pressure, and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, there was no difference in measures of arterial structure and function in children with IBD compared with controls, nor between those with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.

We did not show any differences in arterial structure and function in children with a history of IBD for less than 5 years compared with healthy controls. IBD diagnosed in childhood may provide a window of opportunity to actively reduce standard cardiovascular risk factors and improve future cardiovascular outcomes.

As adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, we sought to determine whether children with IBD might have early adverse changes in arterial structure function as a measure of increased cardiovascular risk. This case–control study found that after a mean disease duration of 2.49 years, children with IBD did not have a statistically significant increased risk of having abnormal measures of arterial structure and function.