Heart Health Guidelines Also Help Prevent Diabetes

Following heart health guidelines is also an effective way to prevent diabetes, according to the results of a recent study.

While it is already known that ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) is associated with lower risk of diabetes, whether this association persists across glycemic levels is unknown.

To explore this issue, researchers conducted a secondary data analysis of data from 7758 participants in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. Follow-up was 9.5 years. The researchers used baseline cholesterol, blood pressure, diet, smoking status, and physical activity and BMI to categorize patients based on the number of ideal CVH components (0-1, 2-3, and 4 or more). Normal glycemic levels were defined as <5.6 mmol/l while impaired fasting glucose (IFG) was defined as 5.6–6.9 mmol/l.

Overall, 891 incident cases of diabetes were observed. Those participants with 4 or more vs 0-1 ideal CVH components and with normal fasting glucose had an 80% lower risk (RR 0.20) of developing diabetes, while those with IFG had a 13% lower risk (RR 0.87) of developing the condition.

“A higher number of ideal CVH components was associated with a dose-dependent lower risk of diabetes for participants with normal fasting glucose but not IFG. Tailored efforts that take into account observed differences by race and glycemic level are needed for the primordial prevention of diabetes,” the researchers concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Joseph JJ, Bennett A, Tcheugui JBE, et al. Ideal cardiovascular health, glycaemic status and incident type 2 diabetes mellitus: the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study [published online January 15, 2019. Diabetologia. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-018-4792-y.