@article {675, title = {Fasting and 2-hour postchallenge serum glucose measures and risk of incident cardiovascular events in the elderly: the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Arch Intern Med}, volume = {162}, year = {2002}, month = {2002 Jan 28}, pages = {209-16}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The contributions of fasting and 2-hour postchallenge glucose level to cardiovascular events remain ill-defined, especially for nondiabetic adults. This study examined the relative predictive power of fasting and 2-hour glucose level on cardiovascular event risk.

METHODS: A total of 4014 community-dwelling adults 65 years or older who participated in the baseline visit of the Cardiovascular Health Study and who were without treated diabetes or previous myocardial infarction or stroke were eligible for analyses. Participants with treated diabetes at baseline were excluded. Incident myocardial infarction or stroke, or coronary death, was the outcome of interest. Age-, sex-, and race-adjusted proportional hazards regression models described individual and joint associations between baseline measures of fasting and 2-hour postchallenge glucose level and event risk.

RESULTS: There were 764 incident cardiovascular events during 8.5 years of follow-up. Fasting glucose level of 115 mg/dL (6.4 mmol/L) or more was associated with an increased cardiovascular risk (hazard ratio [HR], 1.66 [95\% confidence interval (CI), 1.39-1.98]) in adjusted analyses compared with fasting glucose level less than 115 mg/dL. Two-hour glucose level was associated with a linear risk (HR, 1.02 [95\% CI, 1.00-1.04] per 10 mg/dL [0.6 mmol/L]) that included an additional increase in risk for 2-hour glucose level of 154 mg/dL (8.5 mmol/L) or more (HR, 1.29 [95\% CI, 1.04-1.59]) in adjusted analyses. In joint fasting and 2-hour glucose models, only 2-hour glucose level remained predictive of event risk.

CONCLUSIONS: Two-hour glucose level was better than fasting glucose level alone at identifying older adults at increased risk of major incident cardiovascular events.

}, keywords = {Aged, Blood Glucose, Cardiovascular Diseases, Fasting, Female, Glucose Tolerance Test, Humans, Male, Myocardial Infarction, Predictive Value of Tests, Proportional Hazards Models, Risk Assessment, Stroke}, issn = {0003-9926}, doi = {10.1001/archinte.162.2.209}, author = {Smith, Nicholas L and Barzilay, Joshua I and Shaffer, Douglas and Savage, Peter J and Heckbert, Susan R and Kuller, Lewis H and Kronmal, Richard A and Resnick, Helaine E and Psaty, Bruce M} } @article {685, title = {Glucose, blood pressure, and lipid control in older people with and without diabetes mellitus: the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {J Am Geriatr Soc}, volume = {50}, year = {2002}, month = {2002 Mar}, pages = {416-23}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of cardiovascular risk-factor treatment and control in older adults with normal fasting glucose, impaired fasting glucose, and diabetes mellitus and whether those with diabetes mellitus had better risk factor control than older adults with normal fasting glucose.

DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data from population-based, prospective cohort study of risk factors for cardio-vascular and cerebrovascular disease in older people (Cardiovascular Health Study).

SETTING: Community-based.

PARTICIPANTS: Community-dwelling adults aged 65 and older.

MEASUREMENTS: Fasting plasma glucose, serum cholesterol and its subfractions, systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and body mass index.

RESULTS: There were 579 (18\%) cohort members with diabetes mellitus (77\% receiving antidiabetic medication, 23\% with fasting glucose > or =126 mg/dL and no treatment), 213 (6\%) with impaired fasting glucose, and 2,582 (77\%)with normal fasting glucose. Of diabetic participants, 12\% had recommended fasting glucose levels of less than 110 mg/dL. Of participants with hypertension, a larger proportion of diabetic participants than nondiabetic participants (89\% versus 75\%, P < .01) was treated with antihypertensive agents, but a smaller proportion of diabetic participants had recommended blood pressure levels of 129/85 mmHg or lower than nondiabetic participants had recommended blood pressure levels of 139/89 mmHg or lower (27\% vs 48\%, P < .01). Diabetic dyslipidemic participants were treated less often with lipid-lowering therapy (26\% versus 55\%, P < .01) and achieved recommended low-density lipoprotein goals less often (8\%versus 54\%, P < .01) than nondiabetic dyslipidemic participants.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, treatment and control of cardiovascular risk factors were suboptimal in this older population, especially among those with diabetes mellitus. Optimizing risk-factor control can improve health outcomes in older adults with and without diabetes mellitus.

}, keywords = {Age Factors, Aged, Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cholesterol, LDL, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diabetes Complications, Diabetes Mellitus, Female, Humans, Male, Prevalence, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors}, issn = {0002-8614}, doi = {10.1046/j.1532-5415.2002.50103.x}, author = {Smith, Nicholas L and Savage, Peter J and Heckbert, Susan R and Barzilay, Joshua I and Bittner, Vera A and Kuller, Lewis H and Psaty, Bruce M} } @article {791, title = {The association of fasting glucose levels with congestive heart failure in diabetic adults > or =65 years: the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {J Am Coll Cardiol}, volume = {43}, year = {2004}, month = {2004 Jun 16}, pages = {2236-41}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine if fasting glucose levels are an independent risk factor for congestive heart failure (CHF) in elderly individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM) with or without coronary heart disease (CHD).

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus and CHF frequently coexist in the elderly. It is not clear whether fasting glucose levels in the setting of DM are a risk factor for incident CHF in the elderly.

METHODS: A cohort of 829 diabetic participants, age > or =65 years, without prevalent CHF, was followed for five to eight years. The Cox proportional hazards modeling was used to determine the risk of CHF by fasting glucose levels. The cohort was categorized by the presence or absence of prevalent CHD.

RESULTS: For a 1 standard deviation (60.6 mg/dl) increase in fasting glucose, the adjusted hazard ratios for incident CHF among participants without CHD at baseline, with or without an incident myocardial infarction (MI) or CHD event on follow-up, was 1.41 (95\% confidence interval 1.24 to 1.61; p < 0.0001). Among those with prevalent CHD at baseline, with or without another incident MI or CHD event on follow-up, the corresponding adjusted hazard ratio was 1.27 (95\% confidence interval 1.02 to 1.58; p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Among older adults with DM, elevated fasting glucose levels are a risk factor for incident CHF. The relationship of fasting glucose to CHF differs somewhat by the presence or absence of prevalent CHD.

}, keywords = {Aged, Biomarkers, Blood Glucose, Blood Pressure, Coronary Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, Diabetic Angiopathies, Fasting, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Heart Failure, Humans, Incidence, Male, Proportional Hazards Models, Risk Factors, Statistics as Topic, Stroke Volume, Ventricular Function, Left}, issn = {0735-1097}, doi = {10.1016/j.jacc.2003.10.074}, author = {Barzilay, Joshua I and Kronmal, Richard A and Gottdiener, John S and Smith, Nicholas L and Burke, Gregory L and Tracy, Russell and Savage, Peter J and Carlson, Michelle} } @article {789, title = {The relationship of fasting serum radioimmune insulin levels to incident coronary heart disease in an insulin-treated diabetic cohort.}, journal = {J Clin Endocrinol Metab}, volume = {89}, year = {2004}, month = {2004 Jun}, pages = {2852-8}, abstract = {

It is not known whether insulin levels, in the setting of insulin treatment, are an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD). We studied a cohort of 116 insulin-treated individuals, 65 yr or older, who were followed for 5.6-9 yr. All were free of CHD at baseline. There were 47 incident CHD events. In Cox proportional hazards modeling, with fasting immune-reactive insulin levels as a continuous variable, the hazard ratio for CHD was statistically significant (P < 0.0001). When insulin levels were divided into intervals, those in the third interval [43-150 microU/ml (258-900 pmol/liter)] had an adjusted 30\% increased relative risk (95\% confidence interval, 0.57, 2.98) compared with those in the first interval [<20 microU/ml (<120 pmol/liter)]. Those in the fourth interval [151-400 microU/ml (906-2400 pmol/liter)] had an adjusted 5.6-fold increased risk (2.3-13.1; P < 0.0001). Approximately 15\% of the cohort had such elevated insulin levels. Immune-reactive insulin levels were strongly correlated with specific insulin, proinsulin, and insulin antibody levels. Markedly elevated fasting immune-reactive insulin levels were an independent risk factor for CHD in this study of insulin-treated older adults. These observational findings should be confirmed through larger prospective studies, given their implications for insulin therapy.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cohort Studies, Coronary Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1, Fasting, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Hypoglycemic Agents, Incidence, Insulin, Male, Radioimmunoassay, Risk Factors}, issn = {0021-972X}, doi = {10.1210/jc.2003-031822}, author = {Kronmal, Richard A and Barzilay, Joshua I and Tracy, Russell P and Savage, Peter J and Orchard, Trevor J and Burke, Gregory L} } @article {918, title = {Metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease in older people: The cardiovascular health study.}, journal = {J Am Geriatr Soc}, volume = {54}, year = {2006}, month = {2006 Sep}, pages = {1317-24}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: To assess the prospective association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in older people and to evaluate the effect of lowering the threshold for impaired fasting glucose (IFG) on the prevalence of IFG and MetS and the risk of CVD.

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Four field centers in U.S. communities.

PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand five hundred eighty-five subjects in the Cardiovascular Health Study free of diabetes mellitus and CVD at baseline (mean age 72, 62\% female, 14\% black).

MEASUREMENTS: Baseline measures of MetS components and adjudicated incident CVD events. MetS (2001) was defined first using the original criteria from the Third Adult Treatment Panel Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (> or =3 of the following: large waist circumference (women >88 cm, men >102 cm), elevated triglycerides (> or =1.70 mmol/L), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (men <1.04 mmol/L, women <1.30 mmol/L), elevated fasting glucose (6.1-6.9 mmol/L), and high blood pressure (> or =130/85 mmHg or self-reported use of medications for hypertension). Subjects were also classified according to the revised definition of the MetS (2005) that applies the lower threshold for fasting glucose (5.6-6.9 mmol/L).

RESULTS: During follow-up (median 11 years), 818 coronary heart disease (CHD), 401 stroke, and 554 congestive heart failure (CHF) events occurred. Age- and race-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for CHD, stroke, and CHF were 1.30 (95\% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-1.57), 0.94 (95\% CI = 0.73-1.21), and 1.40 (95\% CI = 1.12-1.76) for women and 1.35 (95\% CI = 1.10-1.66), 1.51 (95\% CI = 1.08-2.12), and 1.47 (95\% CI = 1.14-1.90) for men, respectively. Overall, women and men with MetS (2005) were 20\% to 30\% more likely to experience any CVD event than subjects without MetS (2005). Using the lower cut-point for IFG resulted in a near tripling in IFG prevalence (16\% to 46\%) and an additional 9\% classified with MetS (2005) but HRs similar to those estimated from the original MetS (2001) criteria. High blood pressure was the component most strongly associated with incident CHD.

CONCLUSION: Results from this study of an elderly, population-based cohort provide support for earlier investigations in primarily middle-aged populations that link the presence of MetS with the development of CVD and further underscore the importance of recognizing and treating its individual components, particularly high blood pressure.

}, keywords = {African Americans, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Blood Glucose, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cohort Studies, European Continental Ancestry Group, Fasting, Female, Humans, Incidence, Male, Metabolic Syndrome, Risk Factors, Sex Factors}, issn = {0002-8614}, doi = {10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00862.x}, author = {McNeill, Ann Marie and Katz, Ronit and Girman, Cynthia J and Rosamond, Wayne D and Wagenknecht, Lynne E and Barzilay, Joshua I and Tracy, Russell P and Savage, Peter J and Jackson, Sharon A} }