Performance of NT-proBNP as a single biomarker in comparison to SCORE and the recommended ESC/EASD cardiovascular risk stratification model for risk prediction in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background. Recently, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and European Association for the Society of Diabetes (EASD) introduced a new cardiovascular (CV) risk stratification model to aid further treatment decisions in individuals with diabetes. Our study aimed to investigate the prognostic performance of NT-proBNP and the Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) compared to the ESC/EASD risk model in an unselected cohort of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Methods & Results. A total of 1690 T2DM patients with a 10-year follow up for fatal CV and all-cause death and a 5-year follow up for CV and all-cause hospitalizations were analyzed. According to ESC/EASD risk criteria 25 (1.5%) patients were classified as moderate, 252 (14.9%) high, 1125 (66.6%) very high risk and 288 (17.0%) were not classifiable. NT-proBNP, the ESC/EASD and SCORE risk model were all associated with 10-year CV and all-cause death and 5-year CV and all-cause hospitalizations. NT-proBNP showed significantly higher C-indices than the ESC/EASD and SCORE risk model for CV death [0.80 vs 0.53 vs 0.64, pConclusion. NT-proBNP is a high-performing biomarker for CV risk assessment in T2DM. Single NT-proBNP is superior compared to SCORE and the multiparameter ESC/EASD risk stratification model for predicting 10-year CV and all-cause fatal events.