CHD risk greater in diabetic women than men

According to a recent study in Diabetologia, women with diabetes have more than a 40% greater risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) than their male counterparts.

Researchers from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands used PubMed MEDLINE to search for prospective population-based cohort studies published between January 1, 1966 and February 13, 2013 that reported sex-specific relative risk (RR) estimates for incident CHD associated with diabetes and the variability associated with it, which was adjusted at least for age. No significant heterogeneity was found between the studies (I²  = 20%).

Data from 64 cohorts were included, covering 858,507 people and 28,203 incident CHD events. When compared with no diabetes, the RR for incident CHD associated with diabetes was 2.82 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.35, 3.38) for women and 2.16 (95% CI 1.82, 2.56) for men. Multiple-adjusted RR ratio for incident CHD was 44% great in women than in men with diabetes (RR ratio 1.44 [95% CI 1.27, 1.63]).

The study’s authors concluded that women with diabetes have a significantly great risk of CHD than men who have the disease. They believe that sex disparities in pharmaceutical treatment does not explain most of the excess risk to women. Further studies are needed to explain the mechanisms behind the large difference between the men and women, according to the investigators.

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