A cohort study published in the journal Frontiers in Endocrinology concludes that the risk of developing cardiovascular disease doubles for people with type 2 diabetes mellitus with each decade they age. The study recommends taking gender and age into account when dealing with circulatory conditions in people with this metabolic disease.
Led by researchers at IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic Barcelona, CIBEROBN and the Jordi Gol Primary Care Research Institute (IDIAPJGol), the study analyses data from 247,751 patients with type 2 diabetes who were monitored for seven years.
Nearly a quarter (23.4%) of these individuals suffered a first cardiovascular event during this period. The research also indicates that women with type 2 diabetes suffer more cerebrovascular conditions such as stroke.
The study was led by Amanda Jiménez and Emilio Ortega, from Hospital Clínic Barcelona’s Endocrinology and Nutrition Service and the IDIBAPS group Translational research in diabetes, lipids and obesity, as well as Bogdan Vlacho and Josep Franch-Nadal, from IDIAPJGol.
Higher risk among young women
Previous studies have shown that women have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease than men, but they are more likely to develop heart failure. More recent studies of people with type 2 diabetes also show higher rates of heart failure among women.
According to this research, circulatory diseases, mainly coronary heart disease, cause most premature cardiovascular events at all ages, while heart failure is more common in older people of both sexes and doubles every decade, according to previous studies.
The IDIBAPS and IDIAPJGol study also found that hypertension, obesity and socioeconomic status have a greater impact on the development of cardiovascular disease in women with type 2 diabetes than in men, especially among younger patients.
Adapting prevention
Based on these results, the authors of the study recommend evaluating the cardiovascular risk and preventive strategies in people with type 2 diabetes on an individual basis, considering the specific risks by sex and age.
IDIBAPS researcher Amanda Jiménez and IDIAPJGol researcher Bogdan Vlacho say that “preventive action should be evaluated and adjusted to better address gender and age differences, since strategies currently focus primarily on middle-aged men”.
Reference article
Jiménez A, Vlacho B, Mata-Cases M, Real J, Mauricio D, Franch-Nadal J, Ortega E. Sex and age significantly modulate cardiovascular disease presentation in type 2 diabetes: a large population-based cohort study. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2024 May 17;15:1344007. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2024.1344007. PMID: 38828412; PMCID: PMC11140096. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38828412/
