Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Mar 15, 2022; 13(3): 260-271
Published online Mar 15, 2022. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v13.i3.260
Age at diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk factor profile: A pooled analysis
Mary M Barker, Francesco Zaccardi, Emer M Brady, Gaurav S Gulsin, Andrew P Hall, Joseph Henson, Zin Zin Htike, Kamlesh Khunti, Gerald P McCann, Emma L Redman, David R Webb, Emma G Wilmot, Tom Yates, Jian Yeo, Melanie J Davies, Jack A Sargeant
Mary M Barker, Francesco Zaccardi, Emer M Brady, Joseph Henson, Zin Zin Htike, Kamlesh Khunti, David R Webb, Emma G Wilmot, Tom Yates, Melanie J Davies, Jack A Sargeant, Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW, United Kingdom
Gaurav S Gulsin, Gerald P McCann, Jian Yeo, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, Glenfield Hospital, University of Leicester, Leicester LE3 9QP, United Kingdom
Andrew P Hall, The Hanning Sleep Laboratory, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, University of Leicester, Leicester LE5 4PW, United Kingdom
Joseph Henson, Gerald P McCann, Emma L Redman, David R Webb, Tom Yates, Melanie J Davies, Jack A Sargeant, National Institute for Health Research, Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester LE5 4PW, United Kingdom
Kamlesh Khunti, Emma L Redman, Melanie J Davies, Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester LE5 4PW, United Kingdom
Kamlesh Khunti, National Institute for Health Research, Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands, Leicester LE5 4PW, United Kingdom
Emma G Wilmot, Department of Diabetes, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, Derby DE22 3NE, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Davies MJ and Sargeant JA generated the study idea; Barker MM, Zaccardi F, Henson J, Yates T and Sargeant JA prepared and conducted the analysis; Barker MM, Zaccardi F, Davies MJ and Sargeant JA interpreted the analysis and drafted the manuscript, with clinical and/or academic input from co-authors; all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) under its Programme Grants for Applied Research Programme (NIHR201165), as well as by the NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre and the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands.
Institutional review board statement: All studies included in the pooled dataset used for this analysis gained full ethical approval (CODEC: 16/WM/0457; EXPEDITION: 08/H0407/8; LYDIA: 13/WM/0311; DIASTOLIC: 15/WM/0222; PREDICT: 17/WM/0192).
Informed consent statement: All participants included in the studies provided written informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Barker MM, Zaccardi F, Brady EM, Gulsin GS, Hall AP, Henson J, Htike ZZ, McCann GP, Redman EL, Webb DR and Yeo J report no conflicts of interest. Khunti K has acted as consultant, advisory board member and speaker for Abbott, Amgen, Astrazeneca, Bayer, NAPP, Lilly, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Roche, Berlin-Chemie AG/Menarini Group, Sanofi-Aventis, Servier, Boehringer Ingelheim, EACME grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi-Aventis, Lilly, Merck Sharp & Dohme. Yates T and Sargeant JA are supported by the NIHR Leicester BRC and have received project funding in the form an investigator-initiated grant from AstraZeneca. EGW has received personal fees from Abbott Diabetes Care, Dexcom, Eli lilly, Insulet, Medtronic, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi Aventis. Davies MJ has acted as consultant, advisory board member and speaker for Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim, an advisory board member and speaker for AstraZeneca, an advisory board member for Janssen, Lexicon, Servier and Gilead Sciences Ltd and as a speaker for Napp Pharmaceuticals, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation and Takeda Pharmaceuticals International Inc. She has received grants in support of investigator and investigator initiated trials from Novo Nordisk, Sanofi-Aventis, Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, AstraZeneca and Janssen.
Data sharing statement: Data included in this pooled analysis will be made available, after publication, to anyone upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement-checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement-checklist of items.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jack A Sargeant, PhD, Research Associate, Diabetes Research Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Gwendolen Road, Leicester LE5 4PW, United Kingdom. jack.sargeant@leicester.ac.uk
Received: May 28, 2021
Peer-review started: May 28, 2021
First decision: June 24, 2021
Revised: July 8, 2021
Accepted: February 10, 2022
Article in press: February 10, 2022
Published online: March 15, 2022
Processing time: 290 Days and 22.5 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) among younger adults is increasing, and is associated with a higher relative risk of mortality and diabetes-related complications compared to older adults with T2D. This may be due to younger adults with T2D having a more adverse cardiovascular risk factor profile.

Research motivation

Although some research has observed a more adverse cardiovascular risk profile among younger adults with T2D, conflicting findings and methodological limitations have emerged within these studies.

Research objectives

To use a pooled dataset to investigate the association between age at diagnosis (as a continuous variable) and the cardiovascular risk factor profile of adults with T2D.

Research methods

The pooled dataset used for this analysis included 1409 participants, 196 of whom were diagnosed with T2D under the age of 40 years. Descriptive analysis and both univariable and multivariable linear regression models were used to investigate the association between diagnostic age and cardiovascular risk factors [weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, body fat percentage, glycaemic control (HbA1c), lipid profile and blood pressure].

Research results

Results from the analysis revealed that younger age at T2D diagnosis was significantly associated with higher weight, BMI, waist circumference, HbA1c and a more adverse lipid profile, even once confounding factors such as diabetes duration, sex and ethnicity were accounted for.

Research conclusions

This analysis supports previous studies which demonstrate an association between younger age at T2D diagnosis and a worse cardiovascular risk factor profile.

Research perspectives

The results from this analysis highlight the importance of multifactorial interventions targeting multiple risk factors in younger adults with T2D, in order to reduce their risk of mortality and cardiovascular complications.