Heart Disease Associated with Diabetes, Shorter Life Span

06/13/07 Information for Caregivers, Prevention, Research, General

CHICAGO — People living with diabetes face double the risk of cardiovascular disease, a study reported in the June 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study concluded that men and women with diabetes at age 50 and older appear not to live as long overall. Furthermore, statistics suggest they do not live as many years without cardiovascular disease, than individuals without diabetes. In fact, the face double the risk of the disease.

"Having diabetes at age 50 years and older represents not only a significant increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and mortality but also an important decrease in life expectancy and life expectancy free of cardiovascular disease," the authors write. "Prevention of diabetes is a fundamental task facing today's society, with the aim to achieve populations living longer and healthier lives," they conclude.

Oscar H. Franco, M.D., D.Sc., Ph.D., of University Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Unilever Corporate Research, Sharnbrook, England, and colleagues used data from the Framingham Heart Study, a group of 5,209 men and women age 28 to 62 years recruited between 1948 and 1951 and followed for more than 46 years. The researchers selected three follow-up periods of 12 years each that began in 1956 to 1958, 1969 to 1973, and 1985 to 1989. Participants were followed during each of the three periods until they developed cardiovascular disease or died, and their diabetes status was measured again at the beginning of each interval.

Source: Arch Intern Med. 2007;167:1145-1151.