@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} }