P4992The ceramide-based Coronary Event Risk Test (CERT) predicts cardiovascular mortality in cardiovascular disease patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus as well as in those without diabetes

Abstract

Abstract Background The recently introduced Coronary Event Risk Test (CERT) is a validated cardiovascular risk predictor that uses circulating ceramide concentrations to allocate patients into one of four risk categories. Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the power of CERT to predict cardiovascular mortality in patients with established cardiovascular disease (CVD) including patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods We investigated a total of 1087 patients with established CVD, including 360 patients with T2DM. At baseline, the prevalence of T2DM increased through CERT categories (29.1, 31.1, 37.4, and 53.4%, respectively, ptrend<0.001). Prospectively, cardiovascular deaths were recorded during a mean follow-up time of 8.1±3.2 years. Results A total of 130 cardiovascular deaths occurred. Overall, cardiovascular mortality increased with increasing CERT categories (figure) and was higher in T2DM patients than in those who did not have diabetes (17.7 vs. 9.4%; p<0.001). In Cox regression models, CERT categories predicted cardiovascular mortality in patients with T2DM (unadjusted HR 1.60 [1.28–2.01]; p<0.001; HR adjusted for age, gender, BMI, smoking, LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, hypertension, and statin use 1.65 [1.27–2.15]; p<0.001) and in those without diabetes (unadjusted HR 1.43 [1.10–1.85]; p=0.008 and adjusted HR 1.41 [1.07–1.85]; p=0.015). Cardiovascular survival of CVD patients Conclusion We conclude that CERT predicts cardiovascular mortality in CVD patients with T2DM as well as in those without diabetes.