According to a new study published in the journal Diabetes Therapy, approximately one-third of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in the UK have atherothrombotic cardiovascular disease (CVD).
In this retrospective cohort study, researchers used data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) (n=148,803; 53% male; mean age, 65 years) to identify the percentage of patients with T2DM with established CVD (eCVD) and heart failure in the UK.
eCVD was defined as myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, unstable angina pectoris (AP), coronary artery disease and peripheral artery disease.
The results revealed that 52,601 (35.4%) had atherothrombotic forms of eCVD and 8650 (5.8%) had heart failure. Patients considered to have eCVD had a history of MI (n=12,125; 8.2%), stroke (n=14,709; 9.9%), unstable AP (n=14,544; 9.8%), coronary artery disease (n=11,516; 7.7%) and peripheral artery disease (n=27,756; 18.7%). Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels of 7% were achieved by 49.5% of patients (49.7% and 49.3% of patients with and without eCVD, respectively [P<.001]).
The authors suggest that as a general precaution, patients with T2DM with eCVD should be closely monitored for control of their metabolic parameters and risk factors.
