[Effect of the location of previous atherosclerotic disease on prognosis in diabetic patients. The Barbanza Diabetes Study].

Introduction and Objectives: To assess the effect of different forms of atherosclerotic disease on prognosis in diabetic patients.
Methods: This multicenter prospective cohort study involved 1423 consecutive patients with diabetes mellitus who were recruited by 31 primary care physicians. The patients' characteristics were recorded and they were followed up for 45 +/- 10 months.
Results: The mean age of the patients (50% male) was 66 years, 64% had hypertension, 70% had dyslipidemia, and 26% had had a previous cardiovascular event. By the end of follow-up, 81 (6.2%) had died, 40 (3%) of whom due to cardiovascular causes, and 393 (30%) had been hospitalized, 179 (14%) of whom for cardiovascular disease. Multivariate analysis identified the following factors as independent predictors of mortality: age (hazard ratio [HR]=1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI],1.05-1.11), previous cardiovascular disease (HR=2.15; 95% CI, 1.12-4.14) and diuretic treatment (HR=3.40; 95% CI, 1.76-6.56), while the prescription of an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or an angiotensin-receptor antagonist had a protective effect (HR=0.48; 95% CI, 0.25-0.93). Compared with diabetics without a previous cardiovascular event, the risk of a cardiovascular event during follow-up was greater in those with a history of either ischemic heart disease (HR=2.48; 95% CI, 1.51-4.07), cerebrovascular disease (HR=2.51; 95% CI, 1.28-4.92), or peripheral vascular disease (HR=1.46; 95% CI, 0.81-2.60).
Conclusions: The increase in the risk of a cardiovascular event was similar in diabetics with ischemic heart disease and those with cerebrovascular disease. In both cases, the risk was more than double that in patients without a history of cardiovascular disease.