NIH Radio
Study Shows Proportion of Cardiovascular Disease Related to Diabetes Increased
Brief Description:
A National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute study shows that as rates of diabetes have risen in the U.S., the proportion of cardiovascular disease linked to diabetes has also increased.
Transcript:
Akinso: A National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute study shows that as rates of diabetes have risen in the U.S., the proportion of cardiovascular disease linked to diabetes has also increased. The researchers compared risk factors for cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular events such as heart attacks among the study's participants from two different time periods. Dr. Caroline Fox, lead author and medical officer of the study, talked about what conclusions can be drawn from the findings.
Fox: So I think that overall the findings emphasize the need for more efforts to prevent diabetes as well as efforts to aggressively treat and control cardiovascular disease risk factors among individuals with diabetes. The findings also highlight the importance of understanding potential trajectories of cardiovascular disease due to risk factors because this knowledge is really helpful for efforts to predict trends of cardiovascular disease.
Akinso: A total of 9,540 individuals aged 45 to 64 were evaluated — one group between the years of 1952 to 1974, the second group from 1975 to 1998. Dr. Fox said most of the increased risk was observed among men. She added that the prevalence of diabetes among those with cardiovascular disease almost doubled between the earlier and later time periods and there was also an increase in the prevalence of obesity. For more information about this study, log on to www.nhlbi.nih.gov. This is Wally Akinso at the National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland.
About This Audio Report
Date: 4/20/2007
Reporter: Wally Akinso
Sound Bite: Dr. Caroline Fox
Topic: Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease
Institute(s): NHLBI
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