Cardiovascular Prognosis For Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Identified

A recent report from Finland indicates that the cluster of eight cardiovascular risk factors among people with Diabetes type 2 have considerable predictive value.

Researchers at The University of Kuopio studied the clustering of eight cardiovascular risk factors — smoking, high body mass index, elevated systolic blood pressure, high serum, low serum, high density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high fasting blood glucose and high plasma insulin concentration. They looked at their effect on prognosis and tracking effect.

Based on their results, they found that, when not treated aggressively, these risk factors exhibit a relentless increase, regardless of selective mortality.

A population-based, prospective follow-up of 133 newly diagnosed subjects with Type 2 diabetes, aged 45 to 64 years, was included in the study.

Researchers used the following end points: all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and incidences of the first myocardial infarction and first stroke. They then studied the tracking effect of the risk factor clusters throughout the ten-year follow-up period.

Having accounted for the clustering of risk factors, which were typical of type 2 diabetes, all-cause mortality increased from 28.6 percent to 50 percent and there was an increase in cardiovascular disease mortality from 14.3 percent to 50 percent.

Incidences of first myocardial infarction increased from nil to 40 percent as the number of risk factors increased from zero to five. The proportion of individuals with no risk factor decreased among survivors, while the proportion of individuals with three to four risk factors showed an increase during the ten-year follow-up period. This was despite the high mortality among the group with many risk factors.

Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, Vol 3 no 1 pp 17-23.