Metabolic memory and all-cause death in community-based patients with type 2 diabetes: the Fremantle Diabetes Study

Real-world clinical evidence of oral semaglutide on metabolic abnormalities in subjects with type 2 diabetes: a multicenter retrospective observational study (the Sapporo-Oral SEMA study)

Oral semaglutide has potent anti-hyperglycemic efficacy in phase III trials. However, the complicated dosing instructions hamper to use this drug; therefore, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of oral semaglutide in subjects with type 2 diabetes in a real-world clinical setting. In this multi-center retrospective observational study, we analyzed subjects with type 2 diabetes newly treated with an oral semaglutide for >6 months at four medical centers located in Sapporo, Japan. The changes in glycated hemoglobin, body weight, and other metabolic parameters were evaluated and any adverse event leading to semaglutide discontinuation were recorded from February 2021 to December 2022. This study was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Center (UMIN000050583). Of 543 subjects who met the inclusion criteria, data for 434 subjects (age 55.5 ± 12.6 years; body mass index 29.6 ± 6.0 kg/m2) were analyzed. After a 6 months of observation period, semaglutide 3 mg, 7 mg, or 14 mg was used by 55 (12.7%), 241 (55.5%), and 138 (31.8%) of subjects, respectively. Both glycated hemoglobin and body weight significantly improved: 7.65 ± 1.11% to 6.88 ± 0.91% (p < 0.001) and 80.2 ± 19.2 kg to 77.6 ± 19.2 kg (p < 0.001), respectively. Efficacy was also confirmed in the subgroup switched from other anti-hyperglycemic agents, including dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors. In total, 154 subjects had symptomatic gastrointestinal symptoms and 39 (7.2%) were discontinued semaglutide due to the adverse events. None of the participants experienced severe hypoglycemic events. Oral semaglutide in subjects with type 2 diabetes improved glycemic control and body weight in a real-world clinical setting.

Terminal trajectory of HbA1c for 10 years supports the HbA1c paradox: a longitudinal study using Health and Retirement Study data

Objectives

We aimed to assess the potential time-varying associations between HbA1c and mortality, as well as the terminal trajectory of HbA1c in the elderly to reveal the underlying mechanisms.

Design

The design is a longitudinal study using data from the Health and Retirement Study.

Setting and participants

Data were from the Health and Retirement Study. A total of 10,408 participants aged ≥50 years with available HbA1c measurements at baseline (2006/2008) were included.

Methods

Longitudinal HbA1c measured at 2010/2012 and 2014/2016 were collected. HbA1c values measured three times for their associations with all-cause mortality were assessed using Cox regression and restricted cubic splines. HbA1c terminal trajectories over 10 years before death were analyzed using linear mixed-effect models with a backward time scale.

Results

Women constitute 59.6% of the participants with a mean age of 69 years, with 3,070 decedents during the follow-up (8.9 years). The mortality rate during follow-up was 29.5%. Increased mortality risk became insignificant for the highest quartile of HbA1c compared to the third quartile (aHR 1.148, 1.302, and 1.069 for a follow-up of 8.9, 6.5, and 3.2 years, respectively) with a shorter follow-up, while it became higher for the lowest quartile of HbA1c (aHR 0.986, 1.068, and 1.439 for a follow-up of 8.9, 6.5, and 3.2 years, respectively). Accordingly, for both decedents with and without diabetes, an initial increase in HbA1c was followed by an accelerating terminal decline starting 5-6 years before death.

Conclusions and implications

The time-varying association between HbA1c and mortality mapped to the terminal trajectory in HbA1c. High and low HbA1c may have different clinical relationships with mortality. The HbA1c paradox may be partially explained by reverse causation, namely, early manifestation of death.

The relationship between glycated haemoglobin and blood glucose-lowering treatment trajectories in type 2 diabetes: The Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase II

AIMS

To examine the relationships between glycaemia and treatment complexity over 6 years in well-characterized community-based people with type 2 diabetes.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase II participants who had type 2 diabetes with glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and blood glucose-lowering therapy (BGLT) data over 6 years were included. Group-based multi-trajectory modelling identified combined HbA1c/BGLT trajectory subgroups for diabetes durations of ≤1.0 year (Group 1; n = 160), >1.0 to 10.0 years (Group 2; n = 382;) and >10.0 years (Group 3; n = 357). Multinomial regression was used to identify baseline associates of subgroup membership.

RESULTS

The optimum numbers of trajectory subgroups were three in Group 1 (low, medium, high) and four in Groups 2 and 3 (low, low/high medium, high). Each low trajectory subgroup maintained a mean HbA1c concentration of <53 mmol/mol (<7.0%) on lifestyle measures, or monotherapy (Group 3). All five medium subgroups had stable HbA1c trajectories at <58 mmol/mol (<7.5%) but required increasing oral BGLT, or insulin (Group 3, high medium). The Group 1 high subgroup showed a falling then increasing HbA1c with steady progression to insulin. The high subgroups in Groups 2 and 3 showed stable HbA1c profiles at means of approximately 64 mmol/mol (8.0%) and 86 mmol/L (10.0%), respectively, on insulin. Non-Anglo Celt ethnicity, central obesity and hypertriglyceridaemia were strongly associated with Group 1 high subgroup membership. Younger age at diagnosis and central obesity were independent associates of the most adverse HbA1c trajectories in Groups 2 and 3.

CONCLUSIONS

These data demonstrate diabetes duration-dependent heterogeneity in glycaemic and treatment profiles and related clinical and laboratory variables, which have implications for management.

The Association of Dyslipidemia and Atherogenic Indices With Glycemic Control in Diabetic Dyslipidemia Patients: A Real-World Landscape

BACKGROUND

Dyslipidemia is an important comorbid factor of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to assess the pattern of dyslipidemia and atherogenic indices and determine its relation with glycemic control.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study enrolled 382 patients with diabetic dyslipidemia. The socio-demographics data, clinical features, and laboratory parameters were collected. The baseline lipid parameters such as total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) were measured. Atherogenic indices such as TC/HDL-C ratio, TG/HDL-C ratio, LDL-C/HDL-C ratio, non-HDL-C/HDL-C and atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) [log10 (TG/HDL-C)] were calculated. T2DM patients were classified into three groups based on the degree of glycemic control: Good glycemic control (HbA1C<7%), fair control (HbA1C 7-8%), and poor control (HbA1C>8%).

RESULTS

The population's mean age was 48.60±6.15 years, with 145 (38%) males. We found mixed dyslipidemia as the most prevalent (36.1%) form of dyslipidemia in our patients. The most common pattern in atherogenic indices was AIP (94.2%). HbA1c was positively correlated with duration of diabetes (r=0.253, p<0.001). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, duration of diabetes (>10 years) was significantly associated with poor glycemic control with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.31(95% CI; 1.25-4.24, p=0.007).

CONCLUSION

The present study indicated that neither the pattern of dyslipidemia nor the atherogenic indices were markers of poor glycemic control among South Indian patients attending our tertiary care institute. However, duration of diabetes was significantly associated with poor glycemic control.

Time trajectories of key cardiometabolic parameters and of cardiovascular risk in subjects with diabetes in a real world setting

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Diabetes is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA_1c), lipid parameters and blood pressure are known risk factors for adverse outcome. The aim of the study was to explore the time trajectories of these key parameters and of the associated cardiovascular risk.

METHODS

We linked the diabetes electronic health records to the laboratory information system so as to investigate the trajectories of key metabolic parameters from 3 years prior to the diagnosis of diabetes to 10 years after diagnosis. We calculated the cardiovascular risk at the different time points during this period using the United Kingdom Prospective Study (UKPDS) risk engine.

RESULTS

The study included 21,288 patients. The median age at diagnosis was 56 years and 55.3% were male. There was a sharp decrease in HbA_1c after diagnosis of diabetes, but there was a progressive rise thereafter. All lipid parameters after diagnosis also improved in the year of diagnosis, and these improvements persisted even up to 10 years post-diagnosis. There was no discernible trend in mean systolic or diastolic blood pressures following diagnosis of diabetes. There was a slight decrease in the UKPDS-estimated cardiovascular risk after diagnosis of diabetes followed by a progressive increase. Estimated glomerular filtration rate declined at an average rate of 1.33 ml/min/1.73 m²/year.

CONCLUSIONS

Our data suggest that lipid control should be tightened with increasing duration of diabetes since this is more readily achievable than HbA_1c lowering and since other factors such as age and duration of diabetes are unmodifiable.

Associations of Age at Diagnosis and Duration of Diabetes With Morbidity and Mortality Among Older Adults

Importance

Older adults vary widely in age at diagnosis and duration of type 2 diabetes, but treatment often ignores this heterogeneity.

Objectives

To investigate the associations of diabetes vs no diabetes, age at diagnosis, and diabetes duration with negative health outcomes in people 50 years and older.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cohort study included participants in the 1995 through 2018 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a population-based, biennial longitudinal health interview survey of older adults in the US. The study sample included adults 50 years or older (n = 36 060) without diabetes at entry. Data were analyzed from June 1, 2021, to July 31, 2022.

Exposures

The presence of diabetes, specifically the age at diabetes diagnosis, was the main exposure of the study. Age at diagnosis was defined as the age when the respondent first reported diabetes. Adults who developed diabetes were classified into 3 age-at-diagnosis groups: 50 to 59 years, 60 to 69 years, and 70 years and older.

Main Outcomes and Measures

For each diabetes age-at-diagnosis group, a propensity score-matched control group of respondents who never developed diabetes was constructed. The association of diabetes with the incidence of key outcomes-including heart disease, stroke, disability, cognitive impairment, and all-cause mortality-was estimated and the association of diabetes vs no diabetes among the age-at-diagnosis case and matched control groups was compared.

Results

A total of 7739 HRS respondents developed diabetes and were included in the analysis (4267 women [55.1%]; mean [SD] age at diagnosis, 67.4 [9.9] years). The age-at-diagnosis groups included 1866 respondents at 50 to 59 years, 2834 at 60 to 69 years, and 3039 at 70 years or older; 28 321 HRS respondents never developed diabetes. Age at diagnosis of 50 to 59 years was significantly associated with incident heart disease (hazard ratio [HR], 1.66 [95% CI, 1.40-1.96]), stroke (HR, 1.64 [95% CI, 1.30-2.07]), disability (HR, 2.08 [95% CI, 1.59-2.72]), cognitive impairment (HR, 1.30 [95% CI, 1.05-1.61]), and mortality (HR, 1.49 [95% CI, 1.29-1.71]) compared with matched controls, even when accounting for diabetes duration. These associations significantly decreased with advancing age at diagnosis. Respondents with diabetes diagnosed at 70 years or older only showed a significant association with the outcome of elevated mortality (HR, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.01-1.17]).

Conclusions and Relevance

The findings of this cohort study suggest that age at diabetes diagnosis was differentially associated with outcomes and that younger age groups were at elevated risk of heart disease, stroke, disability, cognitive impairment, and all-cause mortality. These findings reinforce the clinical heterogeneity of diabetes and highlight the importance of improving diabetes management in adults with earlier diagnosis.

Great diversity in the utilization and reporting of latent growth modeling approaches in type 2 diabetes: A literature review

Introduction

The progression of complications of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is unique to each patient and can be depicted through individual temporal trajectories. Latent growth modeling approaches (latent growth mixture models [LGMM] or latent class growth analysis [LCGA]) can be used to classify similar individual trajectories in a priori non-observed groups (latent groups), sharing common characteristics. Although increasingly used in the field of T2D, many questions remain regarding the utilization of these methods.

Objective

To review the literature of longitudinal studies using latent growth modeling approaches to study T2D.

Methods

MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE, CINAHL and Wb of Science were searched through August 25th, 2021. Data was collected on the type of latent growth modeling approaches (LGMM or LCGA), characteristics of studies and quality of reporting using the GRoLTS-Checklist and presented as frequencies.

Results

From the 4,694 citations screened, a total of 38 studies were included. The studies were published beetween 2011 and 2021 and the length of follow-up ranged from 8 weeks to 14 years. Six studies used LGMM, while 32 studies used LCGA. The fields of research varied from clinical research, psychological science, healthcare utilization research and drug usage/pharmaco-epidemiology. Data sources included primary data (clinical trials, prospective/retrospective cohorts, surveys), or secondary data (health records/registries, medico-administrative). Fifty percent of studies evaluated trajectory groups as exposures for a subsequent clinical outcome, while 24% used predictive models of group membership and 5% used both. Regarding the quality of reporting, trajectory groups were adequately presented, however many studies failed to report important decisions made for the trajectory group identification.

Conclusion

Although LCGA were preferred, the contexts of utilization were diverse and unrelated to the type of methods. We recommend future authors to clearly report the decisions made regarding trajectory groups identification.

Adipocyte Phenotype Flexibility and Lipid Dysregulation

The prevalence of obesity and associated cardiometabolic diseases continues to rise, despite efforts to improve global health. The adipose tissue is now regarded as an endocrine organ since its multitude of secretions, lipids chief among them, regulate systemic functions. The loss of normal adipose tissue phenotypic flexibility, especially related to lipid homeostasis, appears to trigger cardiometabolic pathogenesis. The goal of this manuscript is to review lipid balance maintenance by the lean adipose tissue’s propensity for phenotype switching, obese adipose tissue’s narrower range of phenotype flexibility, and what initial factors account for the waning lipid regulatory capacity. Metabolic, hypoxic, and inflammatory factors contribute to the adipose tissue phenotype being made rigid. A better grasp of normal adipose tissue function provides the necessary context for recognizing the extent of obese adipose tissue dysfunction and gaining insight into how pathogenesis evolves.

Mortality Rate Associated with Diabetes: Outcomes From a General Practice Level Analysis in England Using the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Database Indicate Stability Over a 15 Year Period

INTRODUCTION

Total population mortality rates have been falling and life expectancy increasing for more than 30 years. Diabetes remains a significant risk factor for premature death. Here we used the Oxford Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre (RCGP RSC) practices to determine diabetes-related vs non-diabetes-related mortality rates.

METHODS

RCGP RSC data were provided on annual patient numbers and deaths, at practice level, for those with and without diabetes across four age groups (< 50, 50-64, 65-79, ≥ 80 years) over 15 years. Investment in diabetes control, as measured by the cost of primary care medication, was also taken from GP prescribing data.

RESULTS

We included 527 general practices. Over the period 2004-2019, there was no significant change in life years lost, which varied between 4.6 and 5.1 years over this period. The proportion of all diabetes deaths by age band was significantly higher in the 65-79 years age group for men and women with diabetes than for their non-diabetic counterparts. For the year 2019, 26.6% of deaths were of people with diabetes. Of this 26.6%, 18.5% would be expected from age group and non-diabetes status, while the other 8.1% would not have been expected-pro rata to nation, this approximates to approximately 40,000 excess deaths in people with diabetes vs the general population.

CONCLUSION

There remains a wide variation in mortality rate of people with diabetes between general practices in UK. The mortality rate and life years lost for people with diabetes vs non-diabetes individuals have remained stable in recent years, while mortality rates for the general population have fallen. Investment in diabetes management at a local and national level is enabling us to hold the ground regarding the life-shortening consequences of having diabetes as increasing numbers of people develop T2DM at a younger age.

Differential effects of treatment targets on risks of adverse outcomes according to diabetes duration, age and complications: Can these characteristics be used to individualize diabetes treatment? The Rio de Janeiro type 2 diabetes cohort

AIMS

To investigate interactions between more/less strict treatment targets (HbA_1c, systolic blood pressure, LDL-cholesterol) and clinical characteristics (age, diabetes duration and presence of complications) for occurrence of cardiovascular/microvascular complications and mortality in type 2diabetes.

METHODS

690 individuals were followed-up for 10 years (median). Interactions between treatment targets, estimated as mean values during the first 2-years, and clinical characteristics were tested in multivariable Cox regressions adjusted for other risk factors. Hazard ratios (HRs) were estimated in stratified analyses for cardiovascular/microvascular outcomes and mortality.

RESULTS

During follow-up, 214 patients had a cardiovascular event (175 MACEs); and 265 died (132 cardiovascular deaths); there were 206 renal, 161 retinopathy and 181 peripheral neuropathy events. There were interactions between treatment parameters and clinical characteristics, in most of them the HRs were higher in older individuals, in those with longer diabetes durations and with complications, particularly for the cardiovascular outcomes and mortality. For microvascular outcomes the opposite was observed. For cardiovascular mortality, the HRs of higher HbA_1c were 1.31 (1.08-1.58) and 1.09 (0.88-1.34), respectively with longer/shorter diabetes duration (p-for-interaction 0.11); and 1.43 (1.14-1.79) and 1.02 (0.85-1.23) in older/younger individuals (p-for-interaction 0.019).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings do not support less strict treatment targets for older individuals, with longer diabetes duration or with complications, particularly for cardiovascular and mortality prevention.

The association between trajectories of risk factors and risk of cardiovascular disease or mortality among patients with diabetes or hypertension: A systematic review

Introduction

Cardiometabolic risk factors and renal function are monitored regularly for patients with diabetes mellitus (DM)/ hypertension (HT). In addition to risk factor levels at a single time point, their trajectory (changes over time) can also be differentially related to the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and mortality. This study aimed to systematically examine the evidence regarding the association between risk factor trajectories and risk of CVD/mortality in patients with DM/HT.

Method

PubMed, MEDLINE, and Embase were searched for articles from January 1963 to April 2021. Inclusion criteria: studies that 1) analyzed trajectories of risk factors including haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood pressure, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), body mass index (BMI), and blood lipids; 2) were performed in the DM/HT population and, 3) included risk of CVD/mortality as outcomes. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale.

Results

A total of 22,099 articles were identified. After screening by title and abstract, 22,027 articles were excluded by irrelevant outcomes, exposure, population, or type of articles. Following full-text screening, 11 articles investigating the trajectories of HbA1c (N = 7), systolic blood pressure (SBP) (N = 3), and eGFR (N = 1) were included for data extraction and analysis. No studies were identified examining the association of BMI or lipid trajectories with CVD/mortality. All included studies were of good quality based on the NOS criteria. In general, stable trajectories within optimal ranges of the risk factors (HbA1c: <7%, SBP: 120-139mmHg, eGFR: >60mL/min/1.73m²) had the lowest CVD/mortality risk compared to an increasing HbA1c trajectory (from 8% to 10%), an increasing SBP trajectory (from 120–139 to ≥140mmHg), or a decreasing eGFR trajectory (from 90 to 70mL/min/1.73m²).

Conclusion

A relatively stable and well-controlled trajectory for cardiometabolic risk factors was associated with the lowest risk of CVD/mortality. Risk factor trajectories have important clinical implications in addition to single time point measurements. More attention should be given to patients with suboptimal control and those with unstable trends of cardiometabolic risk factors.

Legacy in Cardiovascular Risk Factors Control: From Theory to Future Therapeutic Strategies?

In medicine, a legacy effect is defined as the sustained beneficial effect of a given treatment on disease outcomes, even after cessation of the intervention. Initially described in optimized control of diabetes, it was also observed in clinical trials exploring intensification strategies for other cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension or hypercholesterolemia. Mechanisms of legacy were particularly deciphered in diabetes, leading to the concept of metabolic memory. In a more discreet manner, other memory phenomena were also described in preclinical studies that demonstrated long-lasting deleterious effects of lipids or angiotensin II on vascular wall components. Interestingly, epigenetic changes and reactive oxygen species (ROS) appear to be common features of “memory” of the vascular wall.

HbA1c trajectory and cardiovascular outcomes: an analysis of data from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study

Background:

We investigated the associations between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) trajectories and cardiovascular outcomes using data from the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) study.

Methods:

We used HbA1c values within the first 2 years of treatment for modeling with a latent class growth model. Groups of HbA1c trajectories were modeled separately in the standard (group 1–group 4) and intensive (group 5–group 8) treatment arms. The primary outcome in the ACCORD study was a composite of non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, or death from cardiovascular causes. Effects of HbA1c trajectories on cardiovascular outcomes were analyzed using a Cox-proportional hazard model.

Results:

Baseline HbA1c levels for the eight trajectories (group 1–group 8) were 7.8 ± 0.8, 8.2 ± 0.9, 9.3 ± 1.1, 9.6 ± 1.2, 7.8 ± 0.7, 10.1 ± 0.8, 8.3 ± 0.7, and 9.5 ± 1.1%, respectively. The respective values after 2 years of treatment were 7.0 ± 0.6, 7.7 ± 0.7, 8.5 ± 0.9, 10.3 ± 1.3, 6.2 ± 0.4, 6.5 ± 0.6, 7.2 ± 0.6, and 8.5 ± 1.1%. After a median follow-up of 4.8 years, group 5 and group 6 had similar outcomes compared with group 1 (reference group). In contrast, group 3, group 4, and group 8 had higher risks of the primary composite outcome compared with group 1.

Conclusion:

HbA1c trajectory was associated with cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes patients with high cardiovascular risk.

Effect of diabetes duration on the relationship between glycaemic control and risk of death in older adults with type 2 diabetes

AIM

To investigate the effect of diabetes duration on glycaemic control, measured using mean glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level, and mortality risk within different age, sex and clinically relevant, comorbidity-defined subgroups in an elderly population with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS

We studied older (≥65 years) primary care patients with T2D, who had three successive annual measurements of HbA1c taken between 2005 and 2013. The primary exposure was the mean of all three HbA1c measurements. Follow-up began on the date of the third measurement. Individual mean HbA1c levels were categorized into clinically relevant groups (<6.5% [<48 mmol/mol]; 6.5%-6.9% [48-52 mmol/mol]; 7%-7.9% [53-63 mmol/mol]; 8%-8.9% [64-74 mmol/mol]; and ≥9% [≥75 mmol/mol]). We used multiple Cox regression to study the effect of glycaemic control on the hazard of all-cause mortality, adjusted for age, sex, use of concomitant medication, and age- and disease-related comorbidities.

RESULTS

A total of 9734 individuals were included. During a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 7.3 (4.6-8.7) years, 3320 individuals died. We found that the effect of mean HbA1c on all-cause mortality depended on the duration of diabetes (P for interaction <.001). For individuals with short diabetes duration (<5 years), the risk of death increased with poorer glycaemic control (increasing HbA1c), whereas for individuals with longstanding diabetes (≥5 years), we found a J-shaped association, where a mean HbA1c level between 6.5% and 7.9% [48 and 63 mmol/mol] was associated with the lowest risk of death. For individuals with longstanding diabetes, both low (<6.5% [<48 mmol/mol]; hazard ratio [HR] 1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07-1.37, P = .002) and high mean HbA1c levels (≥9.0% [≥75 mmol/mol]; HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.28-1.99, P < .001) were associated with an increased risk of death. We also calculated 5-year absolute risks of all-cause mortality, separately for short and long diabetes duration, and found similar risk patterns across different age groups, sex and comorbidity strata.

CONCLUSIONS

In elderly individuals with T2D, the effect of glycaemic control (measured by HbA1c) on all-cause mortality depended on the duration of diabetes. Of particular clinical importance, we found that strict glycaemic control was associated with an increased risk of death among individuals with long (≥ 5 years) diabetes duration. Conversely, for individuals with short diabetes duration, strict glycaemic control was associated with the lowest risk of death. These results indicate that tight glycemic control may be beneficial in people with short duration of diabetes, whereas a less stringent target may be warranted with longer diabetes exposure.

Legacy benefits of blood glucose, blood pressure and lipid control in individuals with diabetes and cardiovascular disease: Time to overcome multifactorial therapeutic inertia?

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality globally and the largest contributor to healthcare costs. There is good evidence that management of risk factors such as blood pressure, dyslipidaemia and glucose can lead to improved microvascular and macrovascular complications in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Legacy effect is a phenomenon used to describe the prolonged benefits of glucose, blood pressure or lipid control in individuals with cardiovascular disease, diabetes or in primary prevention of cardiovascular disease by early risk factor control. There is now also good quality evidence on the legacy benefits of multifactorial risk factor interventions on renal, cardiovascular and mortality outcomes. Despite this robust evidence, therapeutic inertia is widespread in the management of these risk factors in clinical practice.

The relationship between estimated glomerular filtration rate trajectory and all-cause mortality in type 2 diabetes: the Fremantle Diabetes Study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between estimated GFR (eGFR) and all-cause mortality, including the contribution of temporal eGFR changes, in well-characterised community-based patients with type 2 diabetes.

DESIGN

Longitudinal observational study.

METHODS

Participants from the Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase 1 were assessed between 1993 and 1996 and followed until end-December 2012. Cox proportional hazards modelling was used to assess the relationship between baseline eGFR category (Stage 1-5) and all-cause death, and between eGFR trajectories assigned by semiparametric group-based modelling (GBM) and all-cause death in patients with five post-baseline annual eGFR measurements.

RESULTS

In the full cohort (1296 patients; mean±s.d. age 64.1±11.3years, 48.6% males), 738 (56.9%) died during 12.9±6.1years of follow-up. There was a U-shaped relationship between all-cause death and eGFR category. With Stage 3 (45-59mL/min/1.73m(2)) as reference, the strongest association was for eGFR ≥90mL/min/1.73m(2) (hazard ratio (95% CI) 2.01 (1.52-2.66); P<0.001). GBM identified four linear trajectories ('low', 'medium', 'high', 'high/declining') in 532 patients with serial eGFR measurements. With medium trajectory as reference, eGFR trajectory displaced baseline eGFR category as an independent predictor of death, with low and high/declining trajectories associated with more than double the risk (2.03 (1.30-3.18) and 2.24 (1.31-3.83) respectively, P≤0.003) and associated median reductions in survival of 6.5 and 8.7years respectively.

CONCLUSION

There is a nonlinear relationship between eGFR and death in type 2 diabetes, which is at least partially explained by a sub-group of patients with an initially high but then rapidly declining eGFR.