Excess Mortality for Adults With Young-Onset Diabetes Persists

(HealthDay News) – Excess mortality rates persist among adults with young-onset diabetes, and are mainly due to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and coronary artery disease (CAD), according to a study published online Jan. 11 in Diabetes Care.

Baqiyyah N. Conway, PhD, of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN, and associates described the mortality experience of a low-income, predominantly minority population with diabetes diagnosed before age 30. Participants included 1,098 adults (age 40–79 years) diagnosed with diabetes and 49,914 adults without diabetes. Participants with diabetes were stratified by insulin therapy at baseline: group A treated with insulin only; group B treated with insulin and oral hypoglycemic agent; and group C receiving no insulin treatment.

During a mean follow-up of 3.9 years, the researchers found that 4.6% of the cohort without diabetes died, compared with 15%, 12.5%, and 7.3% of groups A, B, and C, respectively. The hazard ratios (HRs) for all-cause mortality were 4.3, 4.2, and 2.0 for groups A, B, and C, compared with individuals without diabetes. The leading cause of death in groups A, B, and C were ESRD, ESRD and CAD, and CAD, respectively. The HRs for these conditions were at least twice as high as the HRs for all-cause mortality, extending to 17.3, 17.9, and 5.1 in groups A, B, and C, respectively, for ESRD.

“Excess mortality persists among people with young-onset diabetes of long duration, with ESRD and CAD as the leading contributors to mortality,” the authors write.

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