Article Synopsis |  | Despite the majority of diabetic subjects being elderly, relatively few prospective studies have compared clinical and socio-demographic predictors of mortality and coronary heart disease (CHD) in the elderly with and without diabetes.
Of 1155 men and 1472 women examined, 9.2 per cent of men and 6.9 per cent of women manifested diabetes at baseline. The risk factors for all causes of mortality and for CHD outcomes were modelled separately in those with and without diabetes.
The results revealed that in members of the cohort with diabetes, all-causes mortality rates were approximately doubled. CHD incidence was approximately doubled in men and tripled in women. Stroke incidence was approximately doubled in women but little changed in men (comparing those with and without diabetes).
Significant predictors of mortality in diabetics were old age and current smoking. Contrasting those with and without diabetes, being married and a higher body mass index were greater risk factors for mortality in diabetics. The predictors of CHD in diabetics were old age, prior CHD, severe hypertension, low HDL cholesterol and self-rated health. Diabetics and non-diabetics differed in risk factors for CHD, with diabetics having greater risk of CHD if they also have a higher body mass index or a physical disability. |