Time trajectories of key cardiometabolic parameters and of cardiovascular risk in subjects with diabetes in a real world setting

Abstract

Background and aimsDiabetes is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid parameters and blood pressure are known risk factors for adverse outcome. The aim of the study was to explore the time trajectories of these key parameters and of the associated cardiovascular risk. MethodsWe linked the diabetes electronic health records to the laboratory information system so as to investigate the trajectories of key metabolic parameters from 3 years prior to the diagnosis of diabetes to 10 years after diagnosis. We calculated the cardiovascular risk at the different time points during this period using the United Kingdom Prospective Study (UKPDS) risk engine. ResultsThe study included 21,288 patients. The median age at diagnosis was 56 years and 55.3% were male. There was a sharp decrease in HbA1c after diagnosis of diabetes, but there was a progressive rise thereafter. All lipid parameters after diagnosis also improved in the year of diagnosis, and these improvements persisted even up to 10 years post-diagnosis. There was no discernible trend in mean systolic or diastolic blood pressures following diagnosis of diabetes. There was a slight decrease in the UKPDS-estimated cardiovascular risk after diagnosis of diabetes followed by a progressive increase. Estimated glomerular filtration rate declined at an average rate of 1.33 ml/min/1.73 m2/year. ConclusionsOur data suggest that lipid control should be tightened with increasing duration of diabetes since this is more readily achievable than HbA1c lowering and since other factors such as age and duration of diabetes are unmodifiable.