Cardiovascular events and mortality in people with type 2 diabetes and multimorbidity: A real-world study of patients followed for up to 19 years

Curcumin Attenuates Hyperglycemia and Inflammation in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Quantitative Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trial

Controlling hyperglycemia and inflammation in type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains an important approach to control diabetes. The use of phytochemicals found in natural herbs has been investigated widely, and there are inconsistent findings in clinical trials, likely associated with a small sample size. A meta-analysis of clinical trials was performed by conducting a comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Scopus, EBSCOHost, and Web of Sciences. The search terms included Curcumin longa, turmeric, curcumin, curcuma xanthorrhiza, diferuloylmethane, and type 2 diabetes. Data were analyzed using an online meta-analysis tool, Jamovi version 2.4.8 and IBM SPSS statistics version 29. The data were reported as either mean difference (MD) or standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence intervals. The evidence from 18 trials with 1382 T2D with a mean age of 55.9 years was analyzed. Supplementation with curcumin led to a significant decrease in fasting blood glucose, MD = -11.48 mg/dL, 95%CI (-14.26, -8.70), p < 0.01 and glycated hemoglobin, MD = -0.54%, 95%CI (-0.73, -0.35), p < 0.01. Additionally, there was a significant decrease in C-Reactive Protein in curcumin compared to a placebo, SMD = -0.59, 95%CI (-1.11, -0.07), p = 0.03. The findings observed in this study suggest that curcumin can ameliorate hyperglycemia and inflammation in T2D compared to a placebo. While the potential benefits were observed, it is recommended that future trials focus on finding a suitable dose and duration of intervention and incorporate formulation in curcumin to enhance its absorption.

Waist-to-hip ratio as a contributor associated with higher atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk assessment in patients with diabetes: a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION

This study aimed to identify the factors most strongly associated with an increased atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk score in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 4698 patients with T2D over an 11-year period (2010-2021). Patients were categorized into four groups based on their 10-year ASCVD risk score (< 5%, 5-7.5%, 7.5-20%, and > 20%). Multinominal regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between various modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors and the ASCVD risk score.

RESULTS

Of the patients, 35.9% had a 10-year ASCVD risk score below 5%, 12.6% had a score between 5% and 7.5%, 30.8% had a score between 7.5% and 20%, and 19.7% had a score above 20%. Higher ASCVD risk scores were significantly associated with elevated waist-to-hip ratio (WHR > 0.93), pulse pressure, uric acid, triglycerides, and decreased glomerular filtration rate (all p-values < 0.05). WHR demonstrated the strongest association with higher ASCVD risk scores (OR: 4.55, 95% CI: 2.94-7.03, p < 0.001) when comparing patients with ASCVD scores > 5% to those with scores < 5%.

CONCLUSION

WHR was independently associated with higher ASCVD risk scores in patients with T2D. Incorporating WHR, along with traditional risk factors, could improve ASCVD risk assessments in this population.

Impact of the presence and type of cardiovascular disease on the risk of mortality in type 2 diabetic patients: The DIABET-IC trial

INTRODUCTION

All-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality (CVM) risk can be very high in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) with previous cardiovascular disease (CVD). Our objective was to determine this risk among the different clinical spectrum of CVD.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The DIABET-IC trial is a multicenter, prospective, observational, and analytical study. Consecutive subjects with DM2 attending our outpatients' clinics were recruited. Data on clinical features, lab test results, and echocardiographic measures were collected. Patients were categorized depending on the presence and type of CVD: heart failure (HF), coronary artery disease (CAD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and peripheral artery disease (PAD). All-cause mortality and CVM were the dependent variables analyzed. Mortality rate was expressed as deaths per 1000 patients-year. Cox proportional hazards regressions models were used to establish the mortality risk associated with every type of CVD.

RESULTS

We studied a total of 1246 patients (mean age, 6.3 (SD, 9.9) years; 31.6%, female) with an initial prevalence of CVD of 59.3%. A total of 122 deaths (46 due to CVD) occurred at the 2.6-year follow-up. All-cause and MCV rates associated with the presence of PAD (85.6/1000 and 33.6/1000, respectively) and HF (72.9/1000 and 28.7/1000 respectively) were the most elevated of all. In multivariate analysis, HF increased all-cause mortality risk (HR, 1.63; CI 95% 1.03-2.58; P=.037) and the risk of CVM (HR, 3.41; 95% CI, 1.68-6.93; P=.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Mortality among DM2 patients is highly increased in the presence of HF and PAD. This justifies the screening of these conditions to intensify therapeutic strategies.

Incidence of 12 common cardiovascular diseases and subsequent mortality risk in the general population

BACKGROUND

Incident events of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are heterogenous and may result in different mortality risks. Such evidence may help inform patient and physician decisions in CVD prevention and risk factor management.

AIMS

This study aimed to determine the extent to which incident events of common CVD show heterogeneous associations with subsequent mortality risk in the general population.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Based on England-wide linked electronic health records, we established a cohort of 1 310 518 people ≥30 years of age initially free of CVD and followed up for non-fatal events of 12 common CVD and cause-specific mortality. The 12 CVDs were considered as time-varying exposures in Cox's proportional hazards models to estimate hazard rate ratios (HRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Over the median follow-up of 4.2 years (2010-16), 81 516 non-fatal CVD, 10 906 cardiovascular deaths, and 40 843 non-cardiovascular deaths occurred. All 12 CVDs were associated with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality, with HRR (95% CI) ranging from 1.67 (1.47-1.89) for stable angina to 7.85 (6.62-9.31) for haemorrhagic stroke. All 12 CVDs were also associated with increased non-cardiovascular and all-cause mortality risk but to a lesser extent: HRR (95% CI) ranged from 1.10 (1.00-1.22) to 4.55 (4.03-5.13) and from 1.24 (1.13-1.35) to 4.92 (4.44-5.46) for transient ischaemic attack and sudden cardiac arrest, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Incident events of 12 common CVD show significant adverse and markedly differential associations with subsequent cardiovascular, non-cardiovascular, and all-cause mortality risk in the general population.

Patterns and Trends in Mortality Associated With and Due to Diabetes Mellitus in a Transitioning Region With 3.17 Million People: Observational Study

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus (DM) imposes a significant disease burden in economically transitioning regions. Most transitioning regions share similar experience in urbanization processes. Shanghai's Pudong district serves as a representative area of such regions.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to assess the burden of and trends in DM mortality in Shanghai's Pudong district and analyze the impact of aging and multimorbidity.

METHODS

A longitudinal, population-based study was conducted to analyze DM mortality in Pudong from 2005 to 2020. We used joinpoint regression to analyze epidemiological features and long-term trends in crude mortality rate (CMR), age-standardized mortality rate worldwide (ASMRW), and years of life lost (YLL). Furthermore, the decomposition method was used to evaluate the contribution of demographic and nondemographic factors associated with mortality.

RESULTS

There were 49,414 deaths among individuals with DM, including 15,512 deaths due to DM. The CMR and ASMRW were 109.55/105 and 38.01/105 person-years, respectively. Among the mortality associated with and due to DM, the total annual ASMRW increased by 3.65% (95% CI 3.25%-4.06%) and 1.38% (95% CI 0.74%-2.02%), respectively. Additionally, the total annual YLL rate increased by 4.98% (95% CI 3.92%-6.05%) and 2.68% (95% CI 1.34%-4.04%). The rates of YLL increase in persons aged 30 to 44 years (3.98%, 95% CI 0.32%-7.78%) and 45 to 59 years (4.31%, 95% CI 2.95%-5.69%) were followed by the increase in persons aged 80 years and older (10.53%, 95% CI 9.45%-11.62%) for deaths associated with DM. The annual CMR attributable to demographic factors increased by 41.9% (95% CI 17.73%-71.04%) and 36.72% (95% CI 16.69%-60.2%) for deaths associated with and due to DM, respectively. Hypertension, cerebrovascular disease, and ischemic heart disease were the top 3 comorbidities.

CONCLUSIONS

Aging and multimorbidity played essential roles in changing the burden of DM in an urbanizing and transitioning region. There is an increasing disease burden among young and middle-aged people, emphasizing the need for greater attention to these groups. Health management is an emerging method that holds important implications for alleviating the future burden of DM.

All-Cause, Cardiovascular and Respiratory Mortality in People with Type 2 Diabetes and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) in England: A Cohort Study Using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD)

Background

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common non-communicable diseases. Both have an inflammatory nature and similar risk factors, and there is overlap and interaction between them. To date, there is a lack of research on outcomes in people that have both conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the presence of COPD in people with T2D was associated with an increased risk of all-cause, respiratory-cause and cardiovascular-cause mortality.

Methods

A three-year cohort study (2017-19) was done using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum database. The study population was 121,563 people with T2D aged ≥40. The exposure was COPD status at baseline. Incident rates for all-cause, respiratory-cause and cardiovascular-cause mortality were calculated. Poisson models for each outcome were fitted to estimate rate ratios for COPD status adjusted for age, sex, Index of Multiple Deprivation, smoking status, body mass index, prior asthma and cardiovascular disease.

Results

COPD was present in 12.1% people with T2D. People with COPD had a higher all-cause mortality rate (448.7 persons per 1000 person years) compared with people without COPD (296.6 persons per 1000 person years). People with COPD also had substantially higher respiratory mortality incidence rates and moderately raised cardiovascular mortality rates. Fully adjusted Poisson models showed that people with COPD had a 1.23 (95% CI 1.21, 1.24) times higher rate of all-cause mortality as compared with those without COPD and a 3.03 (95% CI 2.89, 3.18) times higher rate of respiratory-cause mortality. There was no evidence of an association with cardiovascular mortality after adjusting for existing cardiovascular disease.

Conclusion

Co-morbid COPD in people with T2D was associated with increased mortality overall and particularly from respiratory causes. People with both COPD and T2D are a high-risk group who would benefit from particularly intensive management of both conditions.

Impact of dyslipidemia in the development of cardiovascular complications: Delineating the potential therapeutic role of coenzyme Q10

Dyslipidemia is one of the major risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). This metabolic anomality is implicated in the generation of oxidative stress, an inevitable process involved in destructive mechanisms leading to myocardial damage. Fortunately, commonly used drugs like statins can counteract the detrimental effects of dyslipidemia by lowering cholesterol to reduce CVD-risk in patients with T2D. Statins mainly function by blocking the production of cholesterol by targeting the mevalonate pathway. However, by blocking cholesterol synthesis, statins coincidently inhibit the synthesis of other essential isoprenoid intermediates of the mevalonate pathway like farnesyl pyrophosphate and coenzyme Q₁₀ (CoQ₁₀). The latter is by far the most important co-factor and co-enzyme required for efficient mitochondrial oxidative capacity, in addition to its robust antioxidant properties. In fact, supplementation with CoQ₁₀ has been found to be beneficial in ameliorating oxidative stress and improving blood flow in subjects with mild dyslipidemia.. Beyond discussing the destructive effects of oxidative stress in dyslipidemia-induced CVD-related complications, the current review brings a unique perspective in exploring the mevalonate pathway to block cholesterol synthesis while enhancing or maintaining CoQ₁₀ levels in conditions of dyslipidemia. Furthermore, this review disscusses the therapeutic potential of bioactive compounds in targeting the downstream of the mevalonate pathway, more importantly, their ability to block cholesterol while maintaining CoQ₁₀ biosynthesis to protect against the destructive complications of dyslipidemia.

Multimorbidity, Frailty and Diabetes in Older People-Identifying Interrelationships and Outcomes

Multimorbidity and frailty are highly prevalent in older people with diabetes. This high prevalence is likely due to a combination of ageing and diabetes-related complications and other diabetes-associated comorbidities. Both multimorbidity and frailty are associated with a wide range of adverse outcomes in older people with diabetes, which are proportionally related to the number of morbidities and to the severity of frailty. Although, the multimorbidity pattern or cluster of morbidities that have the most adverse effect are not yet well defined, it appears that mental health disorders enhance the multimorbidity-related adverse outcomes. Therefore, comprehensive diabetes guidelines that incorporate a holistic approach that includes screening and management of mental health disorders such as depression is required. The adverse outcomes predicted by multimorbidity and frailty appear to be similar and include an increased risk of health care utilisation, disability and mortality. The differential effect of one condition on outcomes, independent of the other, still needs future exploration. In addition, prospective clinical trials are required to investigate whether interventions to reduce multimorbidity and frailty both separately and in combination would improve clinical outcomes.

Association of Healthy Lifestyle and Life Expectancy in Patients With Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity: A Prospective Cohort Study of UK Biobank

Background

The prevalence of cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM), which significantly increases the risk of mortality, is increasing globally. However, the role of healthy lifestyle in the secondary prevention of CMM is unclear.

Methods

In total, 290,795 participants with CMM, which was defined as coexistence of at least two of hypertension (HTN), diabetes mellitus (DM), coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke (ST), and those without these four diseases at baseline were derived from UK Biobank. The associations between specific CMM patterns and mortality, and that between healthy lifestyle (including physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and vegetable and fruit consumption) and mortality in patients with specific CMM patterns were calculated using the flexible parametric Royston-Parmar proportion-hazard model. Hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated.

Results

During a median 12.3-year follow up period, 15,537 (5.3%) deaths occurred. Compared with participants without cardiometabolic diseases, the HRs for all-cause mortality were 1.54 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.30, 1.82] in participants with HTN + DM, 1.84 (95% CI: 1.59, 2.12) in those with HTN + CHD, 1.89 (95% CI: 1.46, 2.45) in those with HTN + ST, and 2.89 (95% CI: 2.28, 3.67) in those with HTN + DM + CHD. At the age of 45 years, non-current smoking was associated with an increase in life expectancy by 3.72, 6.95, 6.75, and 4.86 years for participants with HTN + DM, HTN + CHD, HTN + ST, and HTN + DM + CHD, respectively. A corresponding increase by 2.03, 1.95, 2.99, and 1.88 years, respectively, was observed in participants with regular physical activity. Non-/moderate alcohol consumption and adequate fruit/vegetable consumption were not significantly associated with life expectancy in patients with specific CMM patterns.

Conclusion

Cardiometabolic multimorbidity was associated with an increased risk of mortality. Regular physical activity and non-current smoking can increase life expectancy in patients with specific CMM patterns.

Diabetes complication burden and patterns and risk of mortality in people with schizophrenia and diabetes: A population-based cohort study with 16-year follow-up

Schizophrenia is associated with increased prevalence of diabetes. However, risk of diabetes complications as well as the impact of complication burden and patterns on subsequent mortality risk in schizophrenia patients with co-existing diabetes is understudied. This population-based, propensity-score matched (1:10) cohort study identified 6991 patients with incident diabetes and pre-existing schizophrenia and 68,682 patients with incident diabetes only (comparison group) between 2001 and 2016 in Hong Kong, using territory-wide medical-record database of public healthcare services. Complications were measured by Diabetes Complications Severity Index (DCSI), which stratified complication burden into 6 levels (DCSI score=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or ≥5). Associations of diabetes complications, in terms of DCSI scores (complication burden), specific types and two-way combinations of complications (complication patterns), with all-cause mortality rate in schizophrenia were evaluated using Cox proportional-hazards models. Schizophrenia group had comparable macrovascular (adjusted OR 0.99 [95% CI 0.92-1.06]) and lower microvascular (0.79 [0.73-0.86]) complication rates relative to comparison group. Mortality risk ratio for schizophrenia was elevated at all complication burden levels, which conferred incremental impact on excess mortality in both groups. Cardiovascular diseases (1.60 [1.45-1.77]) and cerebrovascular-metabolic diseases (2.74 [1.25-5.99]) were associated with the highest differential mortality in schizophrenia among various specific complications and complication combinations, respectively. Our results indicate that schizophrenia patients with co-existing diabetes are at increased risk of excess mortality relative to those with diabetes alone, regardless of complication burden levels. Implementation of multilevel, targeted interventions is needed to improve diabetes-related outcomes and reduce mortality gap in this vulnerable population.

Temporal trends in co-morbidities and cardiometabolic risk factors at the time of type 2 diabetes diagnosis in the UK

AIM

To evaluate temporal patterns in co-morbidities, cardiometabolic risk factors and a high atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk population at type 2 diabetes (T2D) diagnosis by age groups and sex.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From the UK primary care database, 248,619 people with a new diagnosis of T2D during 2005-2016 were identified. Among people without ASCVD, high ASCVD risk was defined as two or more of current smoker, grade 2+ obesity, hypertension, dyslipidaemia or microvascular disease. Cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) was defined as two or more of cardiovascular disease, microvascular disease, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, grade 2+ obesity or cancer. Temporal patterns in the distribution of cardiometabolic risk factors were evaluated.

RESULTS

While the prevalence of ASCVD was stable over time (approximately 18%), 50% were identified to have a high ASCVD risk (26% and 38% in the 18-39 and 40-49 years age groups, respectively), with an increasing trend across all age groups. Overall, 51% had CMM at diagnosis, increasing during 2005-2016 for the 18-39 years age group by 14%-17%, for the 40-49 years age group by 27%-33%, for the 50-59 years age group by 41%-50%, for the 60-69 years age group by 56%-65%, and for the 70-79 years age group by 65%-80%. People with young-onset T2D had significantly higher HbA1c, body mass index and lipids at diagnosis (all p < .01). The proportions with an HbA1c of 7.5% or higher in the 18-39 and 40-49 years age groups were 58% and 54%, respectively, significantly and consistently higher over the last decade compared with those aged 50 years or older, with males having higher proportions of 15-26 and 10-18 percentage points, respectively, compared with females.

CONCLUSIONS

CMM and high ASCVD risk have been increasing consistently across all age groups and in both sex, in particular CMM in those aged younger than 50 years. Our findings indicate that the European Society of Cardiology-European Association for the Study of Diabetes recommendations need to change to consider people with young-onset T2D as a high-risk group, as recommended in the Primary Care Diabetes Europe position statement.