Development of Cardiovascular Risk Assessment Model for People with Type 2 Diabetes in Oman

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common chronic diseases globally, with worldwide prevalence of 8.3%. Due to its long-lasting nature and high risk of complications, the burden of type 2 DM is expected to rise. Patients with type 2 DM have an estimated two-to-six fold higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to the general population. Moreover, CVD is considered the leading cause of morbidity and premature mortality in type 2 diabetic patients. CVD risk assessment tools in general are mathematical models or charts used to estimate the risk of a CVD event in an individual. CVD risk estimation is important to plan the initiation of preventive and therapeutic measures for CVD prevention including anti-lipid, anti-hypertensive and anti-platelet therapies, as well as to plan appropriate health education. Various professional guidelines for the management of type 2 DM have advocated the use of CVD risk assessment tools to estimate CVD risk among type 2 diabetic patients using traditional CVD risk factors such as hypertension (HTN), dyslipidemia, high glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), albuminuria, obesity, smoking status, and family history of CVD. However, most of the existing CVD risk assessment tools were derived from Western populations, with very few developed for East Asian populations.