Health
Diabetes accounts for greater proportion of cardiovascular disease
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 16, 2007
The incidence of cardiovascular disease has gone down, but an increasing percentage of cases that do occur are the result of type 2 diabetes, according to a study in the March 27 Circulation.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute researchers analyzed data from the Framingham Heart Study finding that the prevalence of diabetes among those having a cardiovascular event increased from 8.1% to 14.6%. The population-attributable risk of this associated with diabetes also increased from 5.4% to 8.7%.
The authors are calling for more attention to diabetes prevention and heart care for those who already have this disease. "These findings emphasize the need for increased efforts to prevent [diabetes mellitus], as well as efforts to treat aggressively and control CVD risk factors among those with DM," wrote the authors.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2007/04/16/hlbf0416.htm.
