Impact of diabetes and gender on survival after acute myocardial infarction in the Province of Quebec, Canada--a population-based study

Gender and age differences in outcomes of patients with acute coronary syndromes referred for coronary angiography

OBJECTIVES

The number of elderly patients undergoing coronary revascularization is steadily increasing, and data on the impact of gender on outcomes are scarce. This study sought to assess gender-related differences in outcomes in elderly patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

METHODS

We investigated outcomes in elderly ACS patients referred for coronary angiography and prospectively enrolled in the Swiss ACS Cohort between December 2009 and October 2012. Adjudicated major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) included all-cause death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, clinically indicated repeat coronary revascularization, definite stent thrombosis, and transient ischemic attack/stroke.

RESULTS

Among 2,168 patients recruited, 481 (22%) patients were >75 years of age (37% women). In patients >75 years, 1-year MACCE rates were 15% and 23% in women and men (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.36-0.97, P = 0.04), respectively, and differences remained significant after adjustments for baseline variables (adjusted OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.26-0.90, P = 0.02). Women >75 years had a lower cardiovascular mortality (6% versus 12%, adjusted OR 0.31, 95% CI 0.12-0.81, P = 0.02). In patients ≤75 years, 1-year MACCE rates did not differ between gender (10% and 8% for women and men, adjusted OR 1.28, 95% CI 0.77-2.14, P = 0.34). Rates of TIMI major bleeding for women and men were 4% and 4% in patients >75 years (P = 0.96), and 5% and 3% in those ≤75 years (P = 0.11).

CONCLUSIONS

The low rates of MACCE observed in elderly women in this patient cohort suggest that with current interventional strategies the gender gap in ACS management has been attenuated.

Measuring the effect of Family Medicine Group enrolment on avoidable visits to emergency departments by patients with diabetes in Quebec, Canada

The Family Medicine Group (FMG) model of primary care in Quebec, Canada, was driven by the voluntary implementation of family physicians. Our main objective was to measure the effect of FMG enrolment on avoidable use of the emergency department (ED) by diabetic patients. We also sought to determine if effects differed according to whether patients were infrequent or frequent users of the ED and according to high- versus low-regional levels of enrolment. We used data from provincial health administrative databases to identify the diabetic patient population over the age of 20 years for each fiscal year between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012. We used fixed effects and marginal structural models to estimate the effect of enrolment in FMGs on avoidable use of the ED. Our results indicated that for every 10-percentage point increase in the population enrolled with an FMG in the year prior to an event, there was a 3% reduction in avoidable visits to the ED made by an individual (RR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.95, 0.99). We found a significant reduction among diabetic patients who had at most 1 visit to the ED per year (RR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.95, 0.99) and nonsignificant effects among more frequent users. Within low-enrolment regions, a 10-percentage point increase in enrolment in FMG practices at t - 1 led to an 18% decrease in the number of avoidable ED visits (RR = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.78, 0.87). The effect disappeared when the analyses were restricted to the high-enrolment regions (RR = 1.00; 95% CI = 0.92, 1.09). The design and implementation of the incentive to promote team-based practice may not have borne much influence on early adopters who may have been overrepresented by physicians from high-performing practices before the introduction of the reform.

Long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction among individuals with and without diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies in the post-reperfusion era

AIMS

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis with the aim of providing robust estimates of the association between diabetes and long-term (≥1 year) mortality after acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Medline, Embase and Web of Science databases were searched (January 1985 to July 2016) for terms related to long-term mortality, diabetes and AMI. Two authors independently abstracted the data. Hazard ratios (HRs) comparing mortality in people with and without diabetes were pooled across studies using Bayesian random-effects meta-analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 10 randomized controlled trials and 56 cohort studies, including 714 780 patients, reported an estimated total of 202 411 deaths over the median (range) follow-up of 2.0 (1-20) years. The risk of death over time was significantly higher among those with diabetes compared with those without (unadjusted HR 1.82, 95% credible interval [CrI] 1.73-1.91). Mortality remained higher in the analysis restricted to 23/64 cohorts reporting data adjusted for confounders (adjusted HR 1.48, 95% CrI 1.43-1.53). The excess long-term mortality in diabetes was evident irrespective of the phenotype and modern treatment of AMI, and persisted in early survivors (unadjusted HR 1.82, 95% CrI 1.70-1.95).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite medical advances, individuals with diabetes have a 50% greater long-term mortality compared with those without. Further research to understand the determinants of this excess risk are important for public health, given the predicted rise in global diabetes prevalence.

Impact of the joint association between sex, age and diabetes on long-term mortality after acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND

The role of sex, and its joint effect with age and diabetes mellitus, on mortality subsequent to surviving an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) beyond 30 days are unclear. The high prevalence of diabetes mellitus in an ethnically diverse Asian population motivates this study.

METHODS

The study population comprised of a nationwide cohort of Asian patients with AMI, hospitalized between 2000 to 2005, who survived the first 30 days post-admission and were followed prospectively until death or 12 years.

RESULTS

Among the 13,389 survivors, there were fewer women (25.5%) who were older than men (median 70 vs. 58 years) and a larger proportion had diabetes mellitus at admission (51.4% vs. 31.4%). During follow-up 4,707 deaths (women 13.2%; men 22.0%) occurred, with women experiencing higher mortality than men with an averaged hazard ratio (HR): 2.08; 95% confidence interval : 1.96-2.20. However the actual adverse outcome, although always greater, reduced over time with an estimated HR: 2.23 (2.04-2.45) at 30 days to HR: 1.75; (1.47-2.09) 12 years later. The difference in mortality also declined with increasing age: HR 1.80 (1.52-2.13) for those aged 22-59, 1.26 (1.11-1.42) for 60-69, 1.06 (0.96-1.17) and 0.96 (0.85-1.09) for those 70-79 and 80-101 years. Significant two-factor interactions were observed between sex, age and diabetes (P < 0.001). Diabetic women <60 years of age had greater mortality than diabetic men of the same age (adjusted HR: 1.44; 1.14-1.84; P = 0.003), while diabetic women and men ≥60 years of age had a less pronounced mortality difference (adjusted HR: 1.12; 0.99-1.26).

CONCLUSIONS

One in two women hospitalized for AMI in this Asian cohort had diabetes and the sex disparity in post-MI mortality was most pronounced among these who were <60 years of age. This underscores the need for better secondary prevention in this high-risk group.

Racial/ethnic and gender differences in severity of diabetes-related complications, health care resource use, and costs in a Medicare population

This retrospective cohort study evaluated associations of race/ethnicity and gender with outcomes of diabetes complications severity, health care resource utilization (HRU), and costs among Medicare Advantage health plan members with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Medical and pharmacy claims were evaluated for 333,576 members continuously enrolled from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2011, aged 18-89 years, with ≥1 primary diagnosis medical claim, or ≥2 claims with a secondary diagnosis of T2DM (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification code 250.x0 or 250.x2). Complications severity assessment by Diabetes Complications Severity Index ranged from 0 (no complications) to 5+. Mean (SD) all-cause medical, pharmacy, and total costs were reported alongside all-cause HRU by place of service (outpatient, inpatient, emergency room [ER]) and number of visits. Multivariate regression showed being Hispanic, black, or male was associated with higher prevalence of more severe complications. This racial/ethnic disparity was more pronounced among females, among whom odds of having more severe complications were higher for Hispanic and black as compared to white females [(Hispanic vs. white odds ratio [OR], 1.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32-1.48), and (black vs. white OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.19-1.25)]. Regardless of gender, blacks had more ER visits than whites. White females incurred the highest total health care costs (mean annual costs: $13,086; 95% CI, $12,935-$13,240, vs. Hispanic females: $10,732; 95% CI, $10,406-$11,067). These effects held regardless of other demographic and clinical attributes. These findings suggest racial/ethnic and gender differences exist in certain T2DM clinical and economic outcomes.

Sex, sex steroids, and diabetic cardiomyopathy: making the case for experimental focus

More than three decades ago, the Framingham study revealed that cardiovascular risk is elevated for all diabetics and that this jeopardy is substantially accentuated for women in particular. Numerous studies have subsequently documented worsened cardiac outcomes for women. Given that estrogen and insulin exert major regulatory effects through common intracellular signaling pathways prominent in maintenance of cardiomyocyte function, a sex-hormone:diabetic-disease interaction is plausible. Underlying aspects of female cardiovascular pathophysiology that exaggerate cardiovascular diabetic risk may be identified, including increased vulnerability to coronary microvascular disease, age-dependent impairment of insulin-sensitivity, and differential susceptibility to hyperglycemia. Since Framingham, considerable progress has been made in the development of experimental models of diabetic disease states, including a diversity of genetic rodent models. Ample evidence indicates that animal models of both type 1 and 2 diabetes variably recapitulate aspects of diabetic cardiomyopathy including diastolic and systolic dysfunction, and cardiac structural pathology including fibrosis, loss of compliance, and in some instances ventricular hypertrophy. Perplexingly, little of this work has explored the relevance and mechanisms of sexual dimorphism in diabetic cardiomyopathy. Only a small number of experimental studies have addressed this question, yet the prospects for gaining important mechanistic insights from further experimental enquiry are considerable. The case for experimental interrogation of sex differences, and of sex steroid influences in the aetiology of diabetic cardiomyopathy, is particularly compelling-providing incentive for future investigation with ultimate therapeutic potential.

Long-term survival in HIV positive patients with up to 15 Years of antiretroviral therapy

BACKGROUND

Life expectancy has increased for newly diagnosed HIV patients since the inception of combination antiretroviral treatment (cART), but there remains a need to better understand the characteristics of long-term survival in HIV-positive patients. We examined long-term survival in HIV-positive patients receiving cART in the Australian HIV Observational Database (AHOD), to describe changes in mortality compared to the general population and to develop longer-term survival models.

METHODS

Data were examined from 2,675 HIV-positive participants in AHOD who started cART. Standardised mortality ratios (SMR) were calculated by age, sex and calendar year across prognostic characteristics using Australian Bureau of Statistics national data as reference. SMRs were examined by years of duration of cART by CD4 and similarly by viral load. Survival was analysed using Cox-proportional hazards and parametric survival models.

RESULTS

The overall SMR for all-cause mortality was 3.5 (95% CI: 3.0-4.0). SMRs by CD4 count were 8.6 (95% CI: 7.2-10.2) for CD4<350 cells/µl; 2.1 (95% CI: 1.5-2.9) for CD4 = 350-499 cells/µl; and 1.5 (95% CI: 1.1-2.0) for CD4≥500 cells/µl. SMRs for patients with CD4 counts <350 cells/µL were much higher than for patients with higher CD4 counts across all durations of cART. SMRs for patients with viral loads greater than 400 copies/ml were much higher across all durations of cART. Multivariate models demonstrated improved survival associated with increased recent CD4, reduced recent viral load, younger patients, absence of HBVsAg-positive ever, year of HIV diagnosis and incidence of ADI. Parametric models showed a fairly constant mortality risk by year of cART up to 15 years of treatment.

CONCLUSION

Observed mortality remained fairly constant by duration of cART and was modelled accurately by accepted prognostic factors. These rates did not vary much by duration of treatment. Changes in mortality with age were similar to those in the Australian general population.

Sex-specific outcomes of diabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention: a register linkage study

Background

The presence of diabetes mellitus poses a challenge in the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We aimed to evaluate the sex-specific outcomes of diabetic and non-diabetic patients with AMI who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods

Data of the Estonian Myocardial Infarction Registry for years 2006–2009 were linked with the Health Insurance Fund database and the Population Registry. Hazard ratios (HRs) with the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the primary composite outcome (non-fatal AMI, revascularization, or death whichever occurred first) and for the secondary outcome (all cause mortality) were calculated comparing diabetic with non-diabetic patients by sex.

Results

In the final study population (n = 1652), 14.6% of the men and 24.0% of the women had diabetes. Overall, the diabetics had higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors, co-morbidities, and 3–4 vessel disease among both men and women (p < 0.01). Among women, the diabetic patients were younger, they presented later and less often with typical symptoms of chest pain than the non-diabetics (p < 0.01). Women with diabetes received aspirin and reperfusion for ST-segment elevation AMI less often than those without diabetes (p < 0.01). During a follow-up of over two years, in multivariate analysis, diabetes was associated with worse outcomes only in women: the adjusted HR for the primary outcome 1.44 (95% CI 1.05 − 1.96) and for the secondary outcome 1.83 (95% CI 1.17 − 2.89). These results were largely driven by a high (12.0%) mortality during hospitalization of diabetic women.

Conclusions

Diabetic women with AMI who have undergone PCI are a high-risk group warranting special attention in treatment strategies, especially during hospitalization. There is a need to improve the expertise to detect AMI earlier, decrease disparities in management, and find targeted PCI strategies with adjunctive antithrombotic regimes in women with diabetes.

Risk equations to predict life expectancy of people with Type 2 diabetes mellitus following major complications: a study from Western Australia

AIMS

  To develop a model for predicting life expectancy following major diabetes-related complications and to summarize these results by age and gender in the form of a simple table.

METHODS

  Equations for forecasting mortality were derived using an observational cohort of 12,792 patients who had one of the following complications of diabetes: myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, amputation or renal failure, recorded in administrative health and mortality data from the state of Western Australia between 1990 and 1999. Logistic regression was used to estimate mortality within the first month post-event and a Gompertz proportional hazards model was used to estimate survival over the patients' remaining lifetime. After examining the internal validity over a 5-year period, these equations were used to estimate remaining life expectancy by age and sex following specific complications.

RESULTS

  Of the complications examined, renal failure had most impact on life expectancy at all ages, followed by heart failure; the best prognosis was following stroke, myocardial infarction and amputation. For a 60-year-old male, life expectancy immediately post-event ranged from 10.1 years (95% CI 9.4-10.8 years) for stroke to 4.3 years (95% CI 3.1-6.1 years) for renal failure. Life expectancies for women at 60 and 70 years of age were significantly lower than men following myocardial infarction and significantly higher than men following heart failure and amputation at 70 and 80 years of age.

CONCLUSION

  The model allows estimation of both survival probability and life expectancy post-event for men and women of any age. The summary table may provide a useful and simple reference for clinicians and diabetes specialists.

Population based absolute and relative survival to 1 year of people with diabetes following a myocardial infarction: a cohort study using hospital admissions data

BACKGROUND

People with diabetes who experience an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) have a higher risk of death and recurrence of AMI. This study was commissioned by the Department for Transport to develop survival tables for people with diabetes following an AMI in order to inform vehicle licensing.

METHODS

A cohort study using data obtained from national hospital admission datasets for England and Wales was carried out selecting all patients attending hospital with an MI for 2003-2006 (inclusion criteria: aged 30+ years, hospital admission for MI (defined using ICD 10 code I21-I22). STATA was used to create survival tables and factors associated with survival were examined using Cox regression.

RESULTS

Of 157,142 people with an MI in England and Wales between 2003-2006, the relative risk of death or recurrence of MI for those with diabetes (n = 30,407) in the first 90 days was 1.3 (95%CI: 1.26-1.33) crude rates and 1.16 (95%CI: 1.1-1.2) when controlling for age, gender, heart failure and surgery for MI) compared with those without diabetes (n = 129,960). At 91-365 days post AMI the risk was 1.7 (95% CI 1.6-1.8) crude and 1.50 (95%CI: 1.4-1.6) adjusted. The relative risk of death or re-infarction was higher at younger ages for those with diabetes and directly after the AMI (Relative risk; RR: 62.1 for those with diabetes and 28.2 for those without diabetes aged 40-49 [compared with population risk]).

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first study to provide population based tables of age stratified risk of re-infarction or death for people with diabetes compared with those without diabetes. These tables can be used for giving advice to patients, developing a baseline to compare intervention studies or developing license or health insurance guidelines.