Screening for Asymptomatic Coronary Artery Disease in People With Type2 Diabetes Mellitus in a Tertiary Care Center

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the biggest driver of mortality in people with diabetes. Cardiovascular disease and diabetes share the same risk factors, the so-called “common soil” hypothesis. Asians and more specifically Indians are predisposed to cardiovascular disease, that too at an earlier age. The cost of management of cardiovascular disease in India is prohibitive. Thus, screening for asymptomatic coronary artery disease in people with type 2 diabetes and referring them for further evaluation will go a long way in preventing cardiovascular mortality. 560 consenting previously diagnosed people with type 2 diabetes, undergoing treatment for type 2 diabetes at our center, were recruited in the study. We used the risk score model for the assessment of coronary artery disease in asymptomatic patients with type 2 diabetes (1) because it was easy to use, specific for Asian population and validated with coronary computed tomographic angiography in asymptomatic people with type 2 diabetes. Questions regarding smoking, past history of stroke and duration of diabetes were recorded as per the risk score and accordingly the subjects were labelled low, intermediate and high risk. Anthropometric measurements were recorded, lipid profile was measured, neuropathy assessment was done using the DNS score. Results: 48.9%subjects were females,51.1% were males, mean duration of diabetes was 3.5 years, mean HbA1c was 8.5%, mean BMI 26.5kg/m2, mean age was 51.4 years, mean CAD score was 4.1 44.2% of the subjects were in a low risk category, 44.9% were in the intermediate risk category and 10.9% in the high-risk category. The maximum people had intermediate to high risk and were in the age group of 50–60 years (21.3%), followed by 13% in the 60–70 age group. Surprisingly, 12.6% people in the 40-50year age group had an intermediate to high risk score for ASCVD. The high prevalence of intermediate to high risk in relatively younger populations with shorter duration of diabetes (mean duration of diabetes 3.5 years) mandates universal screening for asymptomatic coronary artery disease in all people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Our study highlights the importance of identifying asymptomatic coronary artery disease using locally relevant risk models and their timely referral to prevent excessive cardiovascular mortality in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This would ensure optimum utilization and prioritization of scarce resources in resource crunch situations. Keywords: Screening, asymptomatic CAD, type 2 diabetes mellitus.