Coronary artery disease severity modifies associations between glycemic control and both mortality and myocardial infarction

Intensified glycemic control by HbA1c for patients with coronary heart disease and Type 2 diabetes: a review of findings and conclusions

The occurrence and development of coronary heart disease (CHD) are closely linked to fluctuations in blood glucose levels. While the efficacy of intensified treatment guided by HbA1c levels remains uncertain for individuals with diabetes and CHD, this review summarizes the findings and conclusions regarding HbA1c in the context of CHD. Our review showed a curvilinear correlation between regulated level of HbA1c and therapeutic effectiveness of intensified glycemic control among patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease. It is necessary to optimize the dynamic monitoring indicators of HbA1c, combine genetic profiles, haptoglobin phenotypes for example and select more suitable hypoglycemic drugs to establish more appropriate glucose-controlling guideline for patients with CHD at different stage of diabetes.

Mortality Rate Associated with Diabetes: Outcomes From a General Practice Level Analysis in England Using the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Database Indicate Stability Over a 15 Year Period

INTRODUCTION

Total population mortality rates have been falling and life expectancy increasing for more than 30 years. Diabetes remains a significant risk factor for premature death. Here we used the Oxford Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre (RCGP RSC) practices to determine diabetes-related vs non-diabetes-related mortality rates.

METHODS

RCGP RSC data were provided on annual patient numbers and deaths, at practice level, for those with and without diabetes across four age groups (< 50, 50-64, 65-79, ≥ 80 years) over 15 years. Investment in diabetes control, as measured by the cost of primary care medication, was also taken from GP prescribing data.

RESULTS

We included 527 general practices. Over the period 2004-2019, there was no significant change in life years lost, which varied between 4.6 and 5.1 years over this period. The proportion of all diabetes deaths by age band was significantly higher in the 65-79 years age group for men and women with diabetes than for their non-diabetic counterparts. For the year 2019, 26.6% of deaths were of people with diabetes. Of this 26.6%, 18.5% would be expected from age group and non-diabetes status, while the other 8.1% would not have been expected-pro rata to nation, this approximates to approximately 40,000 excess deaths in people with diabetes vs the general population.

CONCLUSION

There remains a wide variation in mortality rate of people with diabetes between general practices in UK. The mortality rate and life years lost for people with diabetes vs non-diabetes individuals have remained stable in recent years, while mortality rates for the general population have fallen. Investment in diabetes management at a local and national level is enabling us to hold the ground regarding the life-shortening consequences of having diabetes as increasing numbers of people develop T2DM at a younger age.

Association of Glycemic Control Trajectory with Short-Term Mortality in Diabetes Patients with High Cardiovascular Risk: a Joint Latent Class Modeling Study

BACKGROUND

The relationship between risk factor or biomarker trajectories and contemporaneous short-term clinical outcomes is poorly understood. In diabetes patients, it is unknown whether hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) trajectories are associated with clinical outcomes and can inform care in scenarios in which a single HbA1c is uninformative, for example, after a diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD).

OBJECTIVE

To compare associations of HbA1c trajectories and single HbA1c values with short-term mortality in diabetes patients evaluated for CAD DESIGN: Retrospective observational cohort study PARTICIPANTS: Diabetes patients (n = 7780) with and without angiographically defined CAD MAIN MEASURES: We used joint latent class mixed models to simultaneously fit HbA1c trajectories and estimate association with 2-year mortality after cardiac catheterization, adjusting for clinical and demographic covariates.

KEY RESULTS

Three HBA1c trajectory classes were identified: individuals with stable glycemia (class A; n = 6934 [89%]; mean baseline HbA1c 6.9%), with declining HbA1c (class B; n = 364 [4.7%]; mean baseline HbA1c 11.6%), and with increasing HbA1c (class C; n = 482 [6.2%]; mean baseline HbA1c 8.5%). HbA1c trajectory class was associated with adjusted 2-year mortality (3.0% [95% CI 2.8, 3.2] for class A, 3.1% [2.1, 4.2] for class B, and 4.2% [3.4, 4.9] for class C; global P = 0.047, P = 0.03 comparing classes A and C, P > 0.05 for other pairwise comparisons). Baseline HbA1c was not associated with 2-year mortality (P = 0.85; hazard ratios 1.01 [0.96, 1.06] and 1.02 [0.95, 1.10] for HbA1c 7-9% and ≥ 9%, respectively, relative to HbA1c < 7%). The association between HbA1c trajectories and mortality did not differ between those with and without CAD (interaction P = 0.1).

CONCLUSIONS

In clinical settings where single HbA1c measurements provide limited information, HbA1c trajectories may help stratify risk of complications in diabetes patients. Joint latent class modeling provides a generalizable approach to examining relationships between biomarker trajectories and clinical outcomes in the era of near-universal adoption of electronic health records.

Association Between Hemoglobin A1c and Major Adverse Coronary Events in Patients with Diabetes Following Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

INTRODUCTION

Diabetes is associated with a higher risk of major adverse coronary events (MACE) following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Guidelines recommend disparate targets for glycemic control of patients with diabetes who have undergone CABG, ranging from a target hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of < 7.0% to 7.1-8.5%, based on data from non-CABG patients. To date, no study has evaluated the long-term impact of HbA1c concentrations on MACE post-CABG.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between HbA1c and MACE in CABG patients with diabetes.

METHODS

A secondary analysis of the Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes (BARI2D) trial, which enrolled patients with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease, restricted to participants who underwent CABG with ≥ 1 HbA1c measurement post-CABG, was performed. The index date was date of first post-CABG HbA1c measurement. The primary outcome was MACE (composite of death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, or repeat revascularization). Secondary outcomes included MACE components and heart failure. Cox proportional hazards models treating HbA1c as a time-dependent exposure (reference group: HbA1c 6.1-7.0%) were used to derive hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals adjusting for age, sex and baseline characteristics selected by stepwise regression.

RESULTS

A total of 549 patients were followed over a median 3.5 years. The median age of the cohort was 64 years, 25.1% were female, and median baseline HbA1c was 6.7%. Compared to achieving an HbA1c 6.1-7.0%, HbA1c > 8.0% was associated with an increased risk of MACE (HR 1.77, 1.01-3.10). This association was strongest for unstable angina (HR 5.21, 1.03-26.39). Achieving an HbA1c ≤ 6.0% was associated with an increased risk of death (HR 2.41, 1.01-5.74). Other comparisons were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSION

Among patients with type 2 diabetes who underwent CABG, achieving HbA1c 6.1-7.0% was associated with a lower risk of MACE and unstable angina versus achieving an HbA1c > 8.0% and lower risk of death versus achieving an HbA1c ≤ 6.0%.

Association of Diabetes Mellitus Status and Glycemic Control With Secondary Prevention Medication Adherence After Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background

Cardioprotective medication adherence can mitigate the risk of recurrent cardiovascular events and mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We examined the associations of diabetes mellitus status and glycemic control with cardioprotective medication adherence after AMI.

Methods and Results

We performed a retrospective observational cohort study of 14 517 US veterans who were hospitalized for their first AMI between 2011 and 2014 and prescribed a beta‐blocker, 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methyl‐glutaryl‐CoA‐reductase inhibitor, and angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker. The primary exposure was a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus; in diabetes mellitus patients, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was a secondary exposure. The primary outcome was 1‐year adherence to all 3 medication classes, defined as proportion of days covered ≥0.8, assessed using adjusted risk differences and multivariable Poisson regression. Of 14 517 patients (mean age, 66.3 years; 98% male), 52% had diabetes mellitus; 9%, 31%, 24%, 15%, and 21% had HbA1c <6%, 6% to 6.9%, 7% to 7.9%, 8% to 8.9%, and ≥9%, respectively. Diabetes mellitus patients were more likely to be adherent to all 3 drug classes than those without diabetes mellitus (adjusted difference in adherence, 2.1% [0.5, 3.7]). Relative to those with HbA1c 6% to 6.9%, medication adherence declined with increasing HbA1c (risk ratio of achieving proportion of days covered ≥0.8, 0.99 [0.94, 1.04], 0.93 [0.87, 0.99], 0.82 [0.77, 0.88] for HbA1c 7–7.9%, 8–8.9%, and ≥9%, respectively).

Conclusions

Although diabetes mellitus status had a minor positive impact on cardioprotective medication adherence after AMI, glycemic control at the time of AMI may help identify diabetes mellitus patients at risk of medication nonadherence who may benefit from adherence interventions after AMI.