Contrasting associations between diabetes and cardiovascular mortality rates in low-, middle-, and high-income countries: Cohort study data from 143,567 individuals in 21 countries in the pure study

• Main Authors: Alhabib, K.F (Author), Anjana, R.M (Author), Avezum, A. (Author), Bahonar, A. (Author), Chifamba, J. (Author), Dagenais, G.R (Author), Diaz, R. (Author), Gerstein, H.C (Author), Gupta, R. (Author), Hu, L. (Author), Iqbal, R. (Author), Ismail, N. (Author), Iype, T. (Author), Karsidag, K. (Author), Kruger, I.M (Author), Lakshmi, P.V.M (Author), Lanas, F. (Author), Lear, S.A (Author), Li, W. (Author), Lopez-Jaramillo, P. (Author), Mohan, V. (Author), Mony, P.K (Author), Palileo-Villanueva, L.M (Author), Rahman, M.O (Author), Rangarajan, S. (Author), Rosengren, A. (Author), Sheridan, P. (Author), Teo, K. (Author), Venkatesan, U. (Author), Yeates, K. (Author), Yusoff, K. (Author), Yusuf, S. (Author), Yusufali, A. (Author), Zatonska, K. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Diabetes Association Inc., 2020
• Subjects: adult; Adult; aged; Aged; Article; cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular Diseases; cardiovascular mortality; cause of death; cohort analysis; Cohort Studies; Developed Countries; Developing Countries; developing country; diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus; female; Female; high income country; human; Humans; income; Income; low income country; major clinical study; male; Male; middle aged; Middle Aged; middle income country; mortality; Mortality; mortality rate; poverty; Poverty; Prospective Studies; prospective study; risk factor; Risk Factors; rural population; Rural Population
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher; View in Scopus

 OBJECTIVE We aimed to compare cardiovascular (CV) events, all-cause mortality, and CV mortality rates among adults with and without diabetes in countries with differing levels of income. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study enrolled 143,567 adults aged 35–70 years from 4 high-income countries (HIC), 12 middle-income countries (MIC), and 5 low-income countries (LIC). The mean follow-up was 9.0 ± 3.0 years. RESULTS Among those with diabetes, CVD rates (LIC 10.3, MIC 9.2, HIC 8.3 per 1,000 person-years, P < 0.001), all-cause mortality (LIC 13.8, MIC 7.2, HIC 4.2 per 1,000 person-years, P < 0.001), and CV mortality (LIC 5.7, MIC 2.2, HIC 1.0 per 1,000 person-years, P < 0.001) were considerably higher in LIC compared with MIC and HIC. Within LIC, mortality was higher in those in the lowest tertile of wealth index (low 14.7%, middle 10.8%, and high 6.5%). In contrast to HIC and MIC, the increased CV mortality in those with diabetes in LIC remained unchanged even after adjustment for behavioral risk factors and treatments (hazard ratio [95% CI] 1.89 [1.58–2.27] to 1.78 [1.36–2.34]). CONCLUSIONS CVD rates, all-cause mortality, and CV mortality were markedly higher among those with diabetes in LIC compared with MIC and HIC with mortality risk remaining unchanged even after adjustment for risk factors and treatments. There is an urgent need to improve access to care to those with diabetes in LIC to reduce the excess mortality rates, particularly among those in the poorer strata of society. © 2020 by the American Diabetes Association.