Similar Decline Over Decades in Cardiovascular
Disease Rates for People With and Without Diabetes
People with Diabetes Still Have Twice the Risk
Adults with and without diabetes have benefited similarly
from the decline in cardiovascular disease (CVD) rates
over the last several decades, according to a study
funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
(NHLBI). However the study, which is published in
the November 24 issue of the Journal of the American
Medical Association, found that people with diabetes
still have twice the risk of cardiovascular disease
compared to people without diabetes.
The study evaluated more than 8,000 participants from
the Framingham Heart Study original and offspring
cohorts. Participants were divided into two groups:
those who attended clinic examinations between 1950
and 1966 and those who were examined between 1977
and 1995. Scientists compared the CVD incidence rates
of those with and without diabetes between the earlier
and later time periods.
More aggressive treatment of CVD risk factors and further
research on diabetes-specific factors contributing
to CVD risk are needed, conclude the study’s
authors. This two-pronged approach is necessary to
reduce the risk of CVD experienced by people with
diabetes, according to Peter Savage, M.D., director
of the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications
at NHLBI.
Diabetes is becoming more common in the U.S. due to
many factors, including an increase in obesity and
in the number of older adults. Diabetes will therefore
be an increasingly important cause of cardiovascular
disease in the U.S.
Dr. Savage is available to comment on the study. To
arrange an interview, please call the NHLBI Communications
Office at (301) 496-4236.
NHLBI is part of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH), the Federal Government’s primary agency
for biomedical and behavioral research. NIH is a component
of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
NHLBI press releases and fact sheets, including information
on cardiovascular disease, can be found online at
www.nhlbi.nih.gov. |