Issue 160 Item 9 ADA: High Risk of Heart Failure for Diabetics

People with type 2 diabetes have a higher risk of heart failure with a poorer prognosis, researchers report. “Persons with type 2 diabetes live, with an elevated risk of heart failure and that their prognosis is worse than non-diabetics,” That from Ruth Coleman, of the Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Diabetes Trial Unit, Oxford, United Kingdom. “However we haven’t seen much rigorous analysis of data from clinical research addressing this phenomena,” she added. The information was presented, June 14th, in a poster presentation at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Diabetes Association in New Orleans. The team of researchers evaluated data on 5,102 UK subjects from the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS), a prospective study undertaken by the Oxford Centre. “Complete covariate data was available on 4560 of the 5102 UKPDS patients. Two hundred and forty three patients who had less than 4 years follow-up were excluded, as were 299 with 1 or more missing data items,” they noted. The investigators developed and applied an analytical model including age, ethnicity and smoking status at diabetes diagnosis, and measuring HbA1c, systolic blood pressure (SBP), total and HDL cholesterol values 1 to 2 years after diagnosis. This “maximum likelihood analysis” showed that age, HbA1c, SBP and duration of diabetes were associated significantly with the risk of heart failure (p<0.001) but not ethnicity, sex, smoking at diagnosis, or ratio of total to HDL cholesterol (p>0.2). Notably, they found that, “127 (2.8%) patients developed left ventricular or congestive cardiac failure during median 10.6 years follow-up,” which was statistically significant ( p<0.001). "This model, which can be used to assess heart failure risk for individuals or populations with type 2 diabetes, is being incorporated into the UKPDS risk engine, a computer-based cardiovascular risk calculator for type 2 diabetes," the authors noted. [Study title: Risk of Heart Failure in Type 2 Diabetes. Abstract 933-P] ========================================== Breakthrough in Diabetes Education for Children dbaza inc. has created a product can help you use your education time more effectively, allowing you to spend your time on the more difficult issues. More Information