ANAHEIM, CALIF. – Children and young adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes have a 7.4-fold increased risk of sudden cardiac death, compared with nondiabetic, age-matched controls, according to a first-of-its-kind Danish national study.
“Luckily the absolute risk is low, but we hope these data will make [young patients with diabetes] think more about taking their insulin and following their physicians’ recommendations about treatment,” Jesper Svane said in presenting the study findings at the American Heart Association scientific sessions.
Bruce Jancin/Frontline Medical News
Jesper Svane
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) was the No. 1 cause of mortality in the diabetic cohort with a rate of 34.8 deaths/100,000 person-years, compared with 4.7 deaths/100,000 person-years in an age-matched nondiabetic cohort. That translates to a 7.4-fold increased risk of SCD in the diabetic cohort, noted Mr. Svane, a medical student at Copenhagen University.
When deaths caused by SCD were combined with those from other cardiac diseases, the young diabetic cohort had a rate of 68.3 deaths/100,000 person-years versus 8.2 deaths/100,000 person-years in age-matched controls, for an 8.3-fold increased risk. This observation underscores an important point: Monitoring cardiovascular risk needs to start early in young patients with diabetes.
“It’s important to pay attention when a young person with diabetes comes in complaining of chest pain or syncope,” Mr. Svane said.