Cardiovasc Diabetol: Age differences in prediabetes and subclinical atherosclerosis

Background: The global burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been increasing
for decades.

Much of our knowledge about prediabetes as a cardiovascular risk factor comes from studies
of middle-aged people.

Because CVD events take a long time to occur, diagnosing subclinical atherosclerosis by an increase in pulse wave velocity (PWV) or an increase in carotid linar thickness (CIMT) can better assess the impact
of prediabetes on the development of pronounced CVD in a relatively short period of time.

In addition, the association between different prediabetes subtypes and CVD may be different
.

Objective: Here, we compared the relationship between prediabetes and blood glucose indicators and subclinical atherosclerosis between middle-aged people (40-59 years old) and older people (≥ 60 years old) using the prediabetes threshold recommended by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) 2021 standard, and the causal relationship
between blood glucose indicators and PWV in the prospective cohort of China in the cross-lag panel model.

Methods: We included 4739 individuals aged ≥ 40 years with no history of diabetes or CVD and divided them into middle-aged (age < 60 years) and elderly (age ≥ 60 years).

Results: Of the 1634 participants over the age of 60, 64.

Table 1 Relationship between prediabetes, IFG, IGT and elevated HbA1c and increased baPWV in the elderly population

Figure 1 Age-related correlation
between glycemic measurements and OR (95% confidence interval) of elevated baPWV.

Table 2 Adjusted cross-lag standard regression coefficients for baPWV and FPGs

Table 3 Adjusted cross-lag standard regression coefficients baPWV and 2 h-PPG

Table 4 Adjusted cross-lag standard regression coefficients for BaPWV and HbA1c

Conclusions: Our findings suggest that older patients with prediabetes may have a smaller relationship with subclinical atherosclerosis than middle-aged people, and suggest that age is an important consideration
when treating patients with pre-age diabetes.

Original source:

Cao Q, Xin Z, He R,et al.