Abstract 13448: Impact of Diabetes on Growth Differentiation Factor 15 and Mortality in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease: The ANOX Study

Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is still significantly associated with the risk of mortality in the general population. Higher circulating growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF-15) levels are associated with the risk of mortality in the general population, in patients with DM, and in those with coronary artery disease (CAD). However, whether GDF-15 levels differ according to the diabetic status and whether DM modifies the relationship between GDF-15 and mortality in patients with stable CAD are unclear. Methods: Using data from a multicenter, prospective cohort of 1460 patients with stable CAD, we assessed the association between diabetic status and GDF-15 and the impact of DM on the association between GDF-15 levels and the risk of all-cause death. GDF-15 was measured in 797 DM and 663 non-DM patients enrolled in the ANOX Study. Results: The mean age (standard deviation [SD]) of the patients was 71.7 (9.4) years; 74.4% were men. Patients with DM exhibited significantly higher levels of GDF-15 compared to those without DM (median [interquartile range], 1472 [1049-2258] vs. 1274 [868-1874] pg/mL, respectively; P <0.001). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the log-transformed (Ln-) GDF-15 level was independently associated with higher age, DM, current smoking, lower estimated glomerular filtration rate, anemia, no use of aspirin, Ln-N-terminal pro-natriuretic peptide, and Ln-high-sensitivity C-reactive protein ( P <0.005 for all). In the entire patient cohort, the GDF-15 level was significantly associated with all-cause death after adjusting for potential clinical confounders (hazard ratio per 1-SD increase [HR], 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33-1.71). This association was still significant in patients with DM (HR, 1.52; 95% CI, 1.30-1.79) and in those without DM (HR, 1.57; 95% CI, 1.25-1.96). However, GDF-15 provided incremental prognostic information to the model with potential clinical confounders and the established cardiovascular biomarkers in the entire cohort and in patients with DM, but not in those without DM. Conclusions: Higher levels of GDF-15 were independently associated with DM in patients with stable CAD. The prognostic value of GDF-15 on mortality was pronounced in patients with DM.