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Abstract Background Aspirin has been recommended for the prevention of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE, composite of non-fatal myocardial infarction, non-fatal stroke, and cardiovascular death) in diabetic patients without previous cardiovascular disease. However, recent meta-analyses have prompted re-evaluation of this practice. The study objective was to evaluate the relative and absolute benefits and harms of aspirin for the prevention of incident MACE in patients with diabetes. Methods We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on seven studies (N = 11,618) reporting on the use of aspirin for the primary prevention of MACE in patients with diabetes. Two reviewers conducted a systematic search of electronic databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and BIOSIS) and hand searched bibliographies and clinical trial registries. Reviewers extracted data in duplicate, evaluated the quality of the trials, and calculated pooled estimates. Results A total of 11,618 participants were included in the analysis. The overall risk ratio (RR) for MACE was 0.91 (95% confidence intervals, CI, 0.82-1.00) with little heterogeneity among trials (I2 0.0%). Secondary outcomes of interest included myocardial infarction (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.66-1.10), stroke (RR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.64-1.11), cardiovascular death (RR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.71-1.27), and all-cause mortality (RR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.85-1.06). There were higher rates of hemorrhagic and gastrointestinal events. In absolute terms, these relative risks indicate that for every 10,000 diabetic patients treated with aspirin, 109 MACE may be prevented at the expense of 19 major bleeding events (with the caveat that the relative risk for the latter is not statistically significant). Conclusions The studies reviewed suggest that aspirin reduces the risk of MACE in patients with diabetes without cardiovascular disease, while also causing a trend toward higher rates of bleeding and gastrointestinal complications. These findings and our absolute benefit and risk calculations suggest that those with diabetes but without cardiovascular disease lie somewhere between primary and secondary prevention patients on the spectrum of benefit and risk. This underscores the importance of considering individual risk in clinical decision making regarding aspirin in those with diabetes.

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to determine whether South Asian patients with diabetes have a worse prognosis following hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) compared with their White counterparts. We measured the risk of developing a composite cardiovascular outcome of recurrent AMI, congestive heart failure (CHF) requiring hospitalization, or death, in these two groups. Methods Using hospital administrative data, we performed a retrospective cohort study of 41,615 patients with an incident AMI in British Columbia and the Calgary Health Region between April 1, 1995, and March 31, 2002. South Asian ethnicity was determined using validated surname analysis. Baseline demographic characteristics and co-morbidities were included in Cox proportional hazard models to compare time to reaching the composite outcome and its individual components. Results Among the AMI cohort, 29.7% of South Asian patients and 17.6% of White patients were identified as having diabetes (n = 7416). There was no significant difference in risk of developing the composite cardiovascular outcome (Hazard Ratio = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.80-1.01). However, South Asian patients had significantly lower mortality at long term follow-up (HR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.51-0.74) compared to their White counterparts. Conclusions Following hospitalization for AMI, South Asian patients with diabetes do not have a significantly different long term risk of a composite cardiovascular outcome compared to White patients with diabetes. While previous research has suggested worse cardiovascular outcomes in the South Asian population, we found lower long-term mortality among South Asians with diabetes following AMI.

Abstract Background A meta-analysis suggested the use of rosiglitazone was associated with an increased risk for cardiovascular (CV) events. Rosiglitazone remained available for use as more definitive safety trials were ongoing. This issue was reported in the lay media. Objective To review lay media articles to determine the extent of media coverage, the nature of the messaging, and to assess the quality of reporting. Methods The Factiva media database was used to identify articles published between May 18 and August 31, 2007. Two reviewers (a lay person and a physician) screened full text articles for eligibility, appraised the articles for their tone (worrisome, neutral, not worrisome), and for the quality of medical data reporting. Results The search identified 156 articles, 95 of which were eligible for our review. Agreement between the lay and medical reviewers in the appraisal of the article tone was 67.4%. Among those with agreement, the articles were often appraised as "worrisome" (75.3%). Among those with disagreement, the lay reviewer was significantly more likely to appraise articles as worrisome compared to the medical reviewer (77.4% vs. 3.2%, X2 = 9.11, P = 0.003). Cardiovascular risk was discussed in 91.6% of the articles, but risk was often reported in qualitative or relative terms. Conclusion There were many lay media articles addressing the safety of rosiglitazone, and the general messaging of these articles was considered "worrisome" by reviewers. Quality of risk reporting in the articles reviewed was poor. The impact of such media coverage on public anxiety and confidence in treatment should be explored.

Abstract Background Low income individuals with diabetes are at particularly high risk for poor health outcomes. While specialized diabetes care may help reduce this risk, it is not currently known whether there are significant clinical differences across income groups at the time of referral. The objective of this study is to determine if the clinical profiles and medication use of patients referred for diabetes care differ across income quintiles. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted using a Canadian, urban, Diabetes Education Centre (DEC) database. Clinical information on the 4687 patients referred to the DEC from May 2000 – January 2002 was examined. These data were merged with 2001 Canadian census data on income. Potential differences in continuous clinical parameters across income quintiles were examined using regression models. Differences in medication use were examined using Chi square analyses. Results Multivariate regression analysis indicated that income was negatively associated with BMI (p < 0.0005) and age (p = 0.023) at time of referral. The highest income quintiles were found to have lower serum triglycerides (p = 0.011) and higher HDL-c (p = 0.008) at time of referral. No significant differences were found in HBA1C, LDL-c or duration of diabetes. The Chi square analysis of medication use revealed that despite no significant differences in HBA1C, the lowest income quintiles used more metformin (p = 0.001) and sulfonylureas (p < 0.0005) than the wealthy. Use of other therapies were similar across income groups, including lipid lowering medications. High income patients were more likely to be treated with diet alone (p < 0.0005). Conclusion Our findings demonstrate that low income patients present to diabetes clinic older, heavier and with a more atherogenic lipid profile than do high income patients. Overall medication use was higher among the lower income group suggesting that differences in clinical profiles are not the result of under-treatment, thus invoking lifestyle factors as potential contributors to these findings.