Young people with type one or type two diabetes are at greater risk of sudden cardiac death, according to a Danish study from Copenhagen University Hospital.
MADRID, Dec. 4 (EUROPA PRESS).- The majority of people with diabetes They live paying attention to blood sugar, diet and routine check-ups. But there is a silent riskmuch less known, which is beginning to worry cardiologists: the sudden cardiac death in people who often feel “apparently well.”
A large Danish study has just put numbers to this diffuse fear and points to a particularly harsh impact among young adults con type one diabetes y type two. The data raises many uncomfortable questions about how much diabetes really cuts life expectancy and what can be done to avoid the most tragic cases.
The risk of sudden cardiac death is higher for both people with type one diabetes and people with type two diabetes, according to a large study from Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, published in the European Heart Journal. This increased risk is especially notable among young adults.
A risk that arrives without warning
Sudden cardiac death occurs when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly due to a heart problem. It is generally rare in young and apparently healthy people. This research also shows that people with diabetes have on average a shorter life expectancy, and that a proportion of this reduction is due to sudden cardiac death.
The research was led by Dr. Tobias Skjelbred of Copenhagen University Hospital, and included data from the entire Danish population in 2010. In this way, the researchers analyzed the 54,028 deaths that occurred in the country during that year and used death certificates, hospital discharge summaries and autopsy reports to identify all sudden cardiac deaths. Thus, 6,862 cases were found.
What the large Danish study reveals
By combining this with records of which people had type one diabetes, type two diabetes, or none, the researchers were able to compare rates of sudden cardiac death between the three groups. They found that sudden cardiac death was 3.7 times more common in people with type one diabetes and 6.5 times more common in people with type two diabetes, compared to the general population. The risk difference was greatest in young adults, with people younger than 50 with diabetes having a seven-fold increased risk of sudden cardiac death.
The research also showed that the average life expectancy was 14.2 years shorter for people with type one diabetes and 7.9 years shorter for people with type two diabetes. Sudden cardiac death was
responsible for 3.4 of the years lost in people with type one diabetes and 2.7 in people with type two diabetes.
Dr. Skjelbred details: “We have observed that sudden cardiac death is more common in people with diabetes in all age groups, and that it has a considerable impact on reducing life expectancy in people with diabetes. Although the risk of sudden cardiac death increases with age in all people, the relative difference is more pronounced when comparing younger people with diabetes to their peers in the general population.”
This is an observational study, which means we can see a relationship between diabetes and sudden cardiac death, but we cannot prove that one causes the other. Sudden cardiac death is difficult to predict and prevent, but these findings reinforce the importance of people with diabetes working with their doctors to reduce cardiovascular risk.
Can something be done to prevent it?
There are probably several reasons behind this relationship, and these may vary depending on age. Having diabetes predisposes people to ischemic heart disease, which is a key mechanism. Additionally, diabetes-specific factors, such as hypoglycemia and cardiac autonomic neuropathy, may increase the likelihood of arrhythmia and
sudden cardiac death.
A key limitation of this study is that it focuses on deaths that occurred in 2010, before the widespread use of new glucose-lowering therapies, such as SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists. Therefore, we cannot assess how these treatments may have influenced sudden cardiac death over the years.
most recent.
People who are known to be at very high risk of sudden cardiac death can have a cardioverter defibrillator implanted, so the researchers say the next step could be to identify subgroups within the diabetic population that could benefit from preventive strategies and study how to reduce the risk for people with diabetes.