T2D Tied to Mortality in Both Ischemic and Nonischemic HF
Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) had approximately 20%-26% higher mortality rates following ischemic and nonischemic heart failure (HF) than those without diabetes, with similar patterns observed in both women and men.
METHODOLOGY:
Most epidemiologic studies assessing mortality risk in individuals with HF, categorized by etiology and diabetes status, have relied on clinical trials or hospital data, limiting their generalizability to the broader population.
Researchers conducted an observational retrospective cohort study using primary care and hospital data from England to examine the association between T2D and all-cause mortality in patients with ischemic or nonischemic HF.
Patients with newly diagnosed T2D were matched with up to four people without diabetes on the basis of sex, birth year, and general practice.
Incident HF events were defined as ischemic if they followed an ischemic heart disease event after the diagnosis of T2D; otherwise, they were classified as nonischemic. The outcome of interest was all-cause mortality.
A total of 73,344 patients with HF were included, of whom 18,296 had ischemic HF and 55,048 had nonischemic HF. Among patients with ischemic HF, 2806 women (mean age, 77.26 years) and 4447 men (mean age, 73.44 years) had T2D, whereas among those with nonischemic HF, 10,094 women (mean age, 78.33 years) and 9964 men (mean age, 74.83 years) had T2D.
TAKEAWAY:
During a median follow-up of 2.19 years for ischemic HF and 1.98 years for nonischemic HF, mortality was observed in 52.4% and 57.8% of patients, respectively.
Age-standardized mortality rates following ischemic HF were higher in patients with T2D than in those without diabetes (19.2 vs 15.1 and 20.4 vs 16.5 per 100 person-years in women and men, respectively), with similar findings following nonischemic HF in women and men.
T2D was associated with higher mortality rates following ischemic HF, with rates 26% higher in women (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.26; 95% CI, 1.17-1.36) and 23% higher in men (aHR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.15-1.31).
Similarly, following nonischemic HF, T2D was associated with higher mortality rates in both women (aHR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.19-1.29) and men (aHR, 1.20; 95% CI, 1.15-1.25).
IN PRACTICE:
'This [study] highlights the ongoing need to optimize the prevention and management strategies in the overall population of individuals with type 2 diabetes and HF to reduce the risk of premature mortality,' the authors of the study wrote.
SOURCE:
This study was led by Kajal Panchal, MSc, Leicester Diabetes Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester, England, and was published online in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.
LIMITATIONS:
This study relied on health records that were collected routinely, which may have introduced measurement errors for certain covariates. The lack of data on echocardiography prevented distinguishing between HF with preserved or reduced ejection fraction. Additionally, confounding variables, such as body fat distribution, dietary factors, and physical activity, were either unavailable or poorly recorded in the databases.
DISCLOSURES:
This study was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands. Some authors reported being supported by the funding agency and NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre. One author reported receiving consultancy fees, and another author reported being a consultant or speaker and receiving research grants from various sources.
This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. promoted a food company he says will make Americans healthy. Their meals are ultraprocessed
WASHINGTON (AP) — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday praised a company that makes $7-a-pop meals that are delivered directly to the homes of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees. He even thanked Mom's Meals for sending taxpayer-funded meals 'without additives" to the homes of sick or elderly Americans. The spreads include chicken bacon ranch pasta for dinner and French toast sticks with fruit or ham patties. 'This is really one of the solutions for making our country healthy again,' Kennedy said in the video, posted to his official health secretary account, after he toured the company's Oklahoma facility last week. But an Associated Press review of Mom's Meals menu, including the ingredients and nutrition labels, shows that the company's offerings are the type of heat-and-eat, ultraprocessed foods that Kennedy routinely criticizes for making people sick. The meals contain chemical additives that would render them impossible to recreate at home in your kitchen, said Marion Nestle, a nutritionist at New York University and food policy expert, who reviewed the menu for The AP. Many menu items are high in sodium, and some are high in sugar or saturated fats, she said. 'It is perfectly possible to make meals like this with real foods and no ultra-processing additives but every one of the meals I looked at is loaded with such additives,' Nestle said. 'What's so sad is that they don't have to be this way. Other companies are able to produce much better products, but of course they cost more.' Mom's Meals do not have the artificial, petroleum dyes that Kennedy has pressured companies to remove from products, she noted. Mom's Meals said in an emailed response that its food products 'do not include ingredients that are commonly found in ultra-processed foods.' The company does not use synthetic food dyes, high fructose corn syrup, certain sweeteners or synthetic preservatives that are banned in Europe, said Teresa Roof, a company spokeswoman. The meals are a 'healthy alternative' to what many people would find in their grocery stores, said Andrew Nixon, U.S. Health and Human Services spokesman, in response to questions about Mom's Meals. Mom's Meals is one of several companies across the U.S. that deliver 'medically tailored' at-home meals. The meal programs are covered by Medicaid for some enrollees, including people who are sick with cancer or diabetes, as well as some older Americans who are enrolled in certain Medicare health insurance plans. Patients recently discharged from the hospital can also have the meals delivered, according to the company's website. It's unclear how much federal taxpayers spend on providing meals through Medicaid and Medicare every year. An investigation by STAT news last year found that some states were spending millions of dollars to provide medically tailored meals to Medicaid enrollees that were marketed as healthy and 'dietician approved." But many companies served up meals loaded with salt, fat or sugar — all staples of an unhealthy American's diet, the report concluded. Defining ultraprocessed foods can be tricky. Most U.S. foods are processed, whether it's by freezing, grinding, fermentation, pasteurization or other means. Foods created through industrial processes and with ingredients such as additives, colors and preservatives that you couldn't duplicate in a home kitchen are considered the most processed. Kennedy has said healthier U.S. diets are key to his vision to 'Make America Healthy Again.' His call for Americans to increase whole foods in their diets has helped Kennedy build his unique coalition of Trump loyalists and suburban moms who have branded themselves as 'MAHA." In a recent social media post where he criticized the vast amount of ultraprocessed foods in American diets, Kennedy urged Americans to make healthier choices. 'This country has lost the most basic of all freedoms — the freedom that comes from being healthy," Kennedy said. — Aleccia reported from Temecula, Calif.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
This Viral, At-Home Fitness Test Claims to Predict Longevity—but There's a Catch
Dimensions/Getty Images New blood tests, scans, and fitness trackers that purport to predict longevity are rolling out all the time, but if you've scrolled TikTok recently, you might be surprised to see a much lower-tech way getting some buzz: how well you fare in simply trying to haul your butt off the floor. It's all based on the takeaway from a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology that's been making the rounds. In it, researchers had more than 4,000 people do something they dubbed the 'sitting-rising' test and then followed up with them for over a decade. They found a link between how easily people were able to get up off the floor and how long they lived. The task sounds simple, but, as I learned firsthand, it's really not. To get a perfect score on the test, you need to be able to get from a position on the floor—usually cross-legged—to standing without using a hand, elbow, or knee to help. As a former competitive athlete who can't say no to a challenge, I needed to try this (and gain a perfect score) once it came across my FYP. To my surprise, it was hard. While I was able to get it done, I had to give myself a mental pep talk before each attempt. Pulling this test off is trickier than it sounds—it requires a combination of strength, balance, and flexibility, and I struggle to even touch my toes. So that made me wonder: How legit is it, really, in predicting your, um, ultimate demise? Does bombing the test mean you're going to keel over any second? I checked in with longevity experts and fitness pros to find out. One of the benefits of the sitting-rising test is you can do it right at home: Sit on the floor with your legs crossed in front of you and then try to get back up unassisted. The goal is to do this with as little support as possible, test inventor and lead study author Claudio Gil S Araújo, MD, a sports and exercise physician from the Exercise Medicine Clinic Clinimex in Rio de Janeiro, tells SELF. (Check out this handy YouTube video Dr. Araújo and his fellow researchers created to break it down in more detail.) The test is scored from zero to 10, with points assigned for sitting and rising added together. You'll be docked a point for each knee, hand, or forearm you use during the test, along with half-points if you're unsteady (say, you stumble when you get up). 'If you're an eight, why did you lose a point? It may mean that you used one hand to sit and one hand to rise,' Dr. Araújo says. In the study, the researchers discovered a link between how well people scored on the test and their risk of dying during a follow-up of about 12 years. In all, about 16% of the participants died during that period—but only 4% of folks who aced the test with a perfect 10 did so. (On the other end of the spectrum, people who got a four or less had a death rate of 42% during that time.) Okay, but…why? The test measures a few different things that are linked to better health and longevity, study co-author Jonathan Myers, PhD, a clinical professor at Stanford University and a health research scientist at the Palo Alto VA Health Care System, tells SELF. 'When we think of 'fitness,' people usually think of 'aerobic' or cardiorespiratory fitness,' he says. 'Over the last three decades or so, cardiorespiratory fitness has become recognized as a powerful predictor of health outcomes—in many studies, it is even more powerful than the traditional risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, or [high cholesterol].' Cardiorespiratory fitness is important, sure—it's considered a strong indicator of overall health, along with being linked to a lower risk of developing certain diseases. But fitness is more broad than that, and includes things like strength and balance, Dr. Myers says. Strength has been shown to help with daily living (think: being able to carry your own groceries), while balance helps to protect against falls, Dr. Araújo explains. These skills are important for longevity, and they're something that Hannah Koch, PT, DPT, physical therapist at Michigan State University Health Care, tells SELF she checks with older patients, along with their range of motion. The sitting-rising test looks at strength, power, and balance, all in one move. So basically, you're getting more bang for your buck, looking at all of these factors at once. Added bonus: It can also give some insight on your cardiovascular health, Jennifer Wong, MD, cardiologist and medical director of Non-Invasive Cardiology at MemorialCare Heart and Vascular Institute at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, tells SELF. 'One could not do this after certain types of strokes or if too weak from poor overall health,' she adds. While the test is predictive, it's by no means perfect: There are some flaws with it. 'The test does not identify the underlying cause of poor performance,' Anna A. Manns, PT, DPT, lead physical therapist at University Hospital in New Jersey, tells SELF. Meaning, it can't tell if you struggle with getting up due to joint pain, an injury, or the fact that you went hard at the gym yesterday—and those factors don't necessarily have an impact on your longevity. It's also possible to game the test, say, by 'compensating with upper-body movement or momentum by using arm swings or trunk movement to 'cheat' the test,' Dr. Mann says, which would 'mask true lower-limb weakness.' The test also only looks at lower-body function and core strength, so it doesn't gauge your overall fitness, upper-body strength or endurance, 'all of which are important for full functional capacity,' she adds. While the sitting-rising test has a link with longevity, there are plenty of others that healthcare providers use regularly. Simple hand-grip tests, which measure grip strength, are a 'powerful predictor of mortality,' Dr. Myers says. Case in point: A 2015 study published in The Lancet found that grip strength was better at predicting someone's odds of dying from heart disease or other causes during the follow-up than systolic blood pressure, which is usually used to gauge cardiovascular health. Balance tests, like the ability to stand on one leg for 10 seconds or longer, can also be helpful, Dr. Myers says. Koch also flags the Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test (5TSTS) as a useful way to check a person's lower-body strength and balance. It's similar to the sitting-rising test, but has people get up from a chair versus the floor five different times. The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test, which has people get up from a chair, walk a short distance, turn around, walk back, and sit back down while being timed, is useful too, says Manns. 'Together, these tests provide a patient picture of overall physical function and longevity,' Manns says. That said, they're still only a part of the overall picture of your health. There's no reason to get down on yourself if you don't do well on the sitting-rising test—not getting a perfect 10 on the sitting-rising test certainly doesn't mean you're doomed. But it could clue you in on areas of fitness to work on, Dr. Araújo says. That may mean working on balance training, flexibility, or building power. 'This helps a lot to get people motivated,' Dr. Araújo says. Dr. Myers agrees that your mobility, strength, flexibility, and balance can usually be improved with practice and training. 'Individuals who don't perform well on these tests can improve their performance by strengthening lower body muscles, and specific exercises can be targeted to improve flexibility, balance, gait, and mobility,' he says. Albert Matheny, CSCS, cofounder of SoHo Strength Lab, suggests focusing on things like squats, single-leg exercises like lunges, and even balancing on one leg to hit these areas. It's also important to remember that these tests are only part of the puzzle: There are a bunch of health-promoting behaviors out there that have nothing to do with how well you can get up off the floor—or even how well you move in general. While physical activity is important, other things, like eating a high-quality diet, minimizing stress, getting plenty of sleep, and adopting other healthy lifestyle habits like avoiding smoking and minimizing alcohol, also come in handy. Together, these can help you be your healthiest self. 'The sitting-rising test is a good screening tool,' Dr. Araújo says. 'There's a lot we can do to move forward after that.' Related: 6 Daily Habits Doctors Say Will Help You Live Longer 5 Ways Strong Friendships Can Benefit Your Health as You Get Older Exactly How Your Skin Changes in Your 40s, 50s, and 60s Get more of SELF's great fitness coverage delivered right to your inbox—for free. Originally Appeared on Self
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Alder Hey hospital warning after measles spike
A Merseyside children's hospital has warned parents and carers about an increase in measles cases which has left several children "seriously unwell". Alder Hey Children's Hospital has reported the virus is on the rise in young people in the region and blamed the spike on a fall in uptake of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Medical director Alfie Bass and chief nurse Nathan Askew said the symptoms can be severe and "are leading to increasing numbers of children being admitted to our hospital". They said in a letter posted on social media that the "vaccine has been available for many years and is proven to be safe" and urged parents to get their children vaccinated. Vaccine uptake in the UK has fallen over the last decade, leading to outbreaks of measles and whooping cough. A recent report found parent obstacles such as difficulty booking appointments and a lack of reminders on what jabs are needed and when had prevented some from vaccinating their children. The letter, which was co-signed by the public health directors of three Merseyside councils, said: "In rare cases, catching the disease can be fatal. "Measles is particularly dangerous for some of our most vulnerable children and young people, including those under one year of age and those already battling other serious illnesses like cancer." The letter urged parents and carers to get their children vaccinated, which is typically done when the child is aged 12 months, and then again at around three years and four months. The hospital said two doses of the MMR vaccine was enough for "lifelong protection against measles, mumps and rubella". Symptoms of measles usually start with a runny nose, sneezing, coughing and a high temperature, before the measles rash typically develops a few days later. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Measles holiday warning as cases rise in Europe Bristol sees a rise in measles cases Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust
