ORLANDO — Patients with heart failure had a greater than twofold increased risk of subsequently developing diabetes compared with people without heart failure in a review of more than 4,600 individuals in the Framingham Offspring Study.
The analysis also showed a strong association between severity of heart failure symptoms and risk for new-onset diabetes: Patients with higher New York Association Class heart failure faced a greater risk for developing diabetes than did patients with less severe heart failure symptoms, Dr. Ankit Rathod said at the annual scientific sessions of the American Heart Association.
The implication is that patients with heart failure should undergo more intensive surveillance for development of insulin resistance and diabetes, Dr. Rathod said in an interview.
The study used data collected from the more than 4,614 people enrolled into the Framingham Offspring Study in 1971.
During an average follow-up of 24 years, 123 developed heart failure and 468 developed new-onset diabetes. Forty-one of the 123 patients (33%) who developed heart failure later developed diabetes, compared with 427 new cases of diabetes among the other 4,491 people (10%).
In a multivariate analysis that adjusted for baseline demographic and clinical differences, including drug treatments and baseline blood glucose levels, patients who first developed heart failure had a statistically significant 2.5-fold increased risk for later developing diabetes compared with those who did not have heart failure.
Dr. Rathod disclosed having no financial disclosures.