Heart Disease Rates and Diabetes

---

Fox CS, Coady S, Sorlie, PD, et al.: Trends in cardiovascular complications of diabetes. JAMA 292:2495-2499, 2004.

What is the problem, and what is known about it so far?

Even though fewer people have died from heart disease in the past 50 years, it is not known if fewer people that have diabetes and heart disease are dying.

The researchers wanted to know if fewer people died of heart disease (between 1950 and 1995) whether they had diabetes or not.

Who was studied?

A total of 8,181 participants between ages 45 and 64 were studied.

How was the study done?

The study participants were put into two groups: one that included people who had physical exams in the 1950s and 1960s and another group that included people who had physical exams in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

What did the researchers find?

Adults with diabetes have had a 50% reduction in heart disease deaths. Adults without diabetes have had a 35% reduction in heart disease deaths.

The results of this study are different from the results from other studies, which reported that people with heart disease and diabetes have had less reduction in heart disease deaths. The researchers of this study believe the different results occurred because this study followed people for a longer time (about 50 years). During that time, medical treatment improved.

What were the limitations of the study?

One of the limitations of this study is that it does not include patients from different ethnic backgrounds or different parts of the United States . Also, diabetes was measured and diagnosed in 1950 differently than doctors diagnose it today. This could have affected some of the study results.

What are the implications of the study?

Although this study reports a 50% decline in heart disease deaths in adults with diabetes, it is important to remember that people with diabetes are twice as likely to get heart disease as people without diabetes. Medical care has clearly improved for people with diabetes and heart disease, but more research on heart disease that's related to diabetes needs to be done.