The rate of diabetes-related myocardial infarction has fallen almost 68% since 1990, according to an analysis of several federal data sources.
From 1990 to 2010, the rate of acute MI among adults with diabetes fell from 141 cases/10,000 diabetes patients to 45.5/10,000, Edward W. Gregg, Ph.D. and associates reported.
The rate of diabetes-related stroke was down 53% from 1990 to 2010, dropping from 112 cases/10,000 patients to 53/10,000. Lower-extremity amputations declined by 51% over the same period, as the rate went from 58 cases/10,000 to 28/10,000. The rate of end-stage renal disease fell from 28 cases/10,000 in 1990 to 20/10,000 in 2010 for a 28% decline.
These decreases among diabetes patients surpassed the reductions seen among the nondiabetic population over the same time period, but "the large increase in the number of prevalent cases of diabetes" suggests that "the total burden, or absolute number of cases of complications, will probably continue to increase in the coming decades," wrote Dr. Gregg of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, and his associates (N. Engl. J. Med. 2014;370:1514-23).
The analysis involved data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey, the U.S. Renal Data System, and the National Health Interview Survey.
