Cardiac
fibrosis is the basis of structural and functional disorders in patients with
diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A wide range of laboratory and instrumental methods is used for its prediction. The study aimed to identify simple predictors of cardiac
fibrosis in patients with T2DM based on the analysis of circulating
fibrosis biomarkers and arterial stiffness. The study included patients with T2DM (n = 37) and cardiovascular risk factors (RF, n = 27) who underwent ECHO, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), pulse wave analysis (PWV),
reactive hyperemia (RH), peripheral arterial tonometry, carotid ultrasonography, and assessment of serum
fibrosis biomarkers. As a control group, 15 healthy subjects were examined. Left ventricular concentric
hypertrophy was accompanied by an increased serum
galectin-3 level in T2DM patients. There was a relationship between the
PICP and HbA1c levels in both main groups (R2 = 0.309; p = 0.014). A negative correlation between
PICP level and the global longitudinal strain (GLS) was found (r = −0.467; p = 0.004). The RH index had a negative correlation with the duration of diabetes (r = −0.356; p = 0.03), the carotid-femoral PWV (r = −0.371; p = 0.024), and the carotid intima-media thickness (r = −0.622; p < 0.001). The late
gadolinium-enhanced (LGE) cardiac MRI was detected in 22 (59.5%) T2DM and in 4 (14.85%) RF patients. Diabetes, its baseline treatment with
metformin, HbA1c and serum
TIMP-1 levels, and left ventricle
hypertrophy had moderate positive correlations with LGE findings (p < 0.05). Using the multivariate regression analysis, increased
TIMP-1 level was identified as an independent factor associated with cardiac
fibrosis.