Estimated glomerular filtration rate and the risk of stroke in individuals with diabetes mellitus and atrial fibrillation insight from a large contemporary population study.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with increased risk of embolic complications in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Impaired renal function (IRF) increases the risk of stroke as well, but this finding is not consistent among all studies. Our aim was to assess the incidence rates and risk of ischemic stroke and mortality by baseline Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) levels Among individuals with AF and DM. METHODS: A prospective, historical cohort study using the Clalit Health Services electronic medical records database. Among patients with AF and DM, we compared three groups according to eGFR levels: eGFR ≥ 60, between 30 and 60, and ≤ 30 (mL/min/1.73m2). RESULTS: A total of 17,567 cases were included in the final analysis; of them, 11,013 (62.7%) had eGFR ≥ 60, 4930 (28%) had eGFR between 30 and 60, and 1624 (9.24%) with eGFR ≤ 30. The incidence of stroke per 100 person-years in the three study groups was: 1.88, 2.69, and 3.34, respectively (p < 0.001). IRF was associated with increased risk of stroke in univariate analysis, but not after multivariate adjustment (Adjusted Hazard Ratio (AHR) 0.96 {95%CI; 0.74-1.25} for eGFR 30-60 and 0.96 {95%CI; 0.60-1.55} for eGFR ≤ 30). Mortality per 100 person-years was 10.78, 21.49, and 41.55, respectively (p < 0.001). IRF was associated with increased mortality risk in univariate analysis, as well as in multivariate analysis (AHR 1.08 {95%CI; 0.98-1.18} for eGFR 30-60, and 1.59 {95%CI; 1.37-1.85} for eGFR ≤ 30. CONCLUSION: In patients with NVAF and DM, IRF was not associated with an increased risk of stroke, but severe IRF (eGFR ≤ 30) was associated with increased mortality risk.

Relation of Hemoglobin A1C Levels to Risk of Ischemic Stroke and Mortality in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus and Atrial Fibrillation.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with an increased risk of complications in atrial fibrillation (AF). This study aimed to assess the incidence and risks of ischemic stroke and mortality according to baseline HbA1c levels in patients with DM and AF. We conducted a cohort study using Clalit Health Services electronic medical records. The study population included all Clalit Health Services members aged ≥25 years, with the first diagnosis of AF between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2016, who had a diagnosis of DM. The risk of stroke and all-cause death were compared according to HbA1c levels at the time of AF diagnosis: <7.0%, between 7% and 9%, and ≥9%. A total of 44,451 patients with DM and AF were identified. The median age was 75 years (interquartile 65 to 83), and 52.5% were women. During a mean follow-up of 38 months, higher levels of HbA1c were associated with an increased risk of stroke with a dose-dependent response when compared with patients with HbA1c <7% (Adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] =1.30 [95% confidence interval 1.10 to 2.05] for levels between 7% and 9% and 1.60 (95% confidence interval 1.25 to 2.03) for HbA1c >9%, even after adjusting for CHA2DS2-Vasc risk factors and use of oral anticoagulants. The risk for overall mortality was significantly higher in the HBA1C >9% group (aHR = 1.17 [1.07 to 1.28]). In conclusion, in this cohort of patients with AF and DM, HbA1c levels were associated with the risk of stroke in a dose-dependent manner even after accounting for other recognized risk factors for stroke.

Identifying patients with atrial fibrillation with a single CHA2DS2-VASC risk factor who are at higher risk of stroke.

AIMS: Management of patients with a single CHA2DS2-VASc score risk factor is controversial. We attempt to identify the "truly low risk" AF patients who will not benefit from oral anticoagulation (OAC) treatment. METHODS: Retrospective cohort analysis, all incident non-valvular AF (NVAF) cases between 2004 and 2015, and age 21 and older, with up to one thromboembolic risk factor besides sex (CHA2DS2-VASc score of up to 1 for men and up to 2 for women). A "low risk" score was created for these patients using a logistic regression model on the incidence of stroke within 30-2500 days following the NVAF diagnosis. RESULTS: We identified 15,621 patients. Average age was 53.7 ± 12.3 years, 56.6% male. Mean follow-up was 5.5 years. Significant predictors of ischemic stroke were age 65-74 and diabetes (2 points each), hypertension, vascular disease, and chronic kidney disease stage 2-3 (1 point each). Stroke incidence ranged from 0.8% for score 0 and up to 3.4% for scores ≤ 2. Odds ratio for stroke among patient group with a score ≤ 2 was 4.3 (2.9-6.6) compared with score 0. Our risk score's area-under-the-curve (AUC) for prediction of stroke was 0.68 (0.65-0.71), compared with 0.60 (0.57-0.62) for the CHAD2S2-VASc score, within this low-risk group. CONCLUSION: Patients considered at low or intermediate risk using traditional risk stratification schemes, with ≥ 2 points using this proposed low-risk index (65-74 years old, diabetics or a combination of chronic renal failure and an additional risk factor), had an overall stroke risk that may justify anticoagulation therapy.

Pre-Diabetes Increases Stroke Risk in Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of embolism in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). The association between pre-diabetes and risk of ischemic stroke has not been studied separately in this population. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether pre-diabetes is associated with increased risk of stroke and death in patients with NVAF. METHODS: We conducted a historical cohort study using the Clalit Health Services electronic medical records. The study population included all members aged ≥25 years, with a first diagnosis of NVAF between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2016. We compared 3 groups of individuals: those with pre-diabetes, those with diabetes, and normoglycemic patients. RESULTS: A total of 44,451 cases were identified. The median age was 75 years, and 52.5% were women. During a mean follow-up of 38 months, the incidence rates of stroke (per 100 person-years) were: 1.14 in normoglycemic individuals, 1.40 in those with pre-diabetes, and 2.15 in those with diabetes. In both univariate and multivariate analyses, pre-diabetes was associated with an increased risk of stroke compared with normoglycemic persons (adjusted hazard ratio [adjHR]: 1.19; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01 to 1.4) even after adjustment for CHA2DS2-Vasc risk factors and use of anticoagulants, while diabetes conferred an even higher risk (vs. normoglycemia (adjHR: 1.56; 95% CI: 1.37 to 1.79). The risk for mortality was higher for individuals with diabetes (adjHR: 1.47; 95% CI: 1.41 to 1.54) but not for those with pre-diabetes (adjHR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.92 to 1.03). CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of patients with incident NVAF, pre-diabetes was associated with an increased risk of stroke even after accounting for other recognized risk factors.

All-Cause Mortality of Patients With and Without Diabetes Following Bariatric Surgery: Comparison to Non-surgical Matched Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Data are sparse regarding the survival benefit of bariatric surgery on mortality among persons with diabetes. We aimed to investigate the association of bariatric surgery, compared with usual care, on all-cause mortality in individuals who underwent surgery and matched controls, stratified by the presence of diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study utilized population-based electronic medical record data. Individuals who underwent one of three types of bariatric surgery during 2005-2014 were included. For each surgical patient, three non-surgical individuals were matched according to age, sex, body mass index, and diabetes status. The cohort comprised 9564 individuals with diabetes and 23,976 individuals without diabetes. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 4.2 years, adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality for non-surgery vs. surgery were 2.38 (95%CI: 1.75, 3.26) and 1.73 (95%CI: 1.26, 2.36) among individuals with diabetes and individuals without diabetes, respectively. Considered separately, HRs for mortality for laparoscopic banding, gastric bypass, and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy were 2.83 (95%CI: 1.73, 4.63), 2.30 (95%CI: 1.25, 4.25), and 1.89 (95%CI: 1.1, 3.32) among patients with diabetes; and 1.74 (95%CI: 1.20, 2.52), 2.66 (0.81, 8.76), and 1.16 (0.51, 2.65) among patients without diabetes. CONCLUSION: The survival advantage of bariatric surgery after a median follow-up of 4.2 years was greater among individuals with than without diabetes for the three types of surgery performed. Longer follow-up is needed to examine the effect on survival in individuals without diabetes who undergo bariatric surgery. These results suggest priority considerations for bariatric surgery candidates.

All-Cause Mortality Following Bariatric Surgery in Smokers and Non-smokers.

INTRODUCTION: Bariatric surgery is associated with lower all-cause mortality, but many studies exclude smokers. We sought to determine if the association of mortality and bariatric surgery differs between smokers and non-smokers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study in a large Israeli integrated payer/provider health care organization. A total of 7747 adult patients who underwent bariatric surgery between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2014, were selected and compared with non-surgical patients (and were matched on age, sex, diabetes, and BMI using a sequential/simultaneous stratification matching). A total of 30,742 patients with a median follow-up of 4.3 years were included in this study with less than 1% lost to follow-up. The type of bariatric surgery (gastric banding, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, or sleeve gastrectomy) and smoking status were determined from electronic health records. The rate of all-cause mortality in matched surgical and non-surgical patients was compared in smoking and non-smoking subgroups, adjusted for key potential confounders. RESULTS: There was a statistically significantly higher mortality associated with not having bariatric surgery in both smoking (HR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.54-2.56) and non-smoking (HR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.12-3.34) subgroups. Although smokers had higher rates of mortality overall (2.6% in smokers compared with 1.7% in non-smokers), the mortality hazard ratio (comparing matched non-surgical patients to surgical patients) did not differ significantly between smokers and non-smokers (p for interaction = .67). CONCLUSIONS: Bariatric surgery was associated with significantly lower mortality in both smokers and non-smokers.

Net clinical benefit of anticoagulant treatments in elderly patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: Experience from the real world.

BACKGROUND: Oral anticoagulation (OAC) is effective in stroke prevention in elderly patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF), but older patients are also at higher risk of bleeding. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine whether OAC has net clinical benefit (NCB) in elderly patients with AF. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with AF, aged 75 years and older, who were diagnosed from January 1, 2013, through December 31, 2015. Incidences of stroke and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) were estimated as the number of events per 100 person-years. The NCBs were estimated with respect to time in therapeutic range (TTR) (<60% or ≥60%) and treatment type (warfarin and low or high dose of direct oral anticoagulants [DOACs]). RESULTS: We included 11,760 patients, of whom 4982 (42.4%) were treated with OACs: 2042 (17.4%) with warfarin and 2940 (25.0%) with DOACs. Among patients treated with warfarin, those who achieved TTR ≥ 60% had a lower incidence of stroke (2.54 per 100 person-years vs 5.21 per 100 person-years; P = .01) but without a statistically significant lower incidence of ICH (0.68 per 100 person-years vs 1.10 per 100 person-years; P = .45) and a higher NCB (9.78 vs 6.52) than did those with TTR < 60%. Among patients treated with DOACs, patients treated with the high dose had a statistically significant similar incidence of stroke (8.40 per 100 person-years vs 9.81 per 100 person-years; P = .67), a statistically significant lower incidence of ICH (0.33 per 100 person-years vs 1.20 per 100 person-years; P = .02), and a higher NCB (4.42 vs 1.78) than did patients treated with the low dose. CONCLUSION: A large proportion of elderly patients are not treated with OACs. We found that the NCB of OAC in the elderly is positive, with the highest benefit in elderly patients treated with warfarin who achieved TTR ≥ 60% or high dose of DOACs.

Mortality After Complex Displaced Proximal Humerus Fractures in Elderly Patients: Conservative Versus Operative Treatment With Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty.

INTRODUCTION: Proximal humerus fractures (PHFs) are a common fragility fracture and have been shown to increase mortality in elderly patients. In the last decade, reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) was introduced as a reliable operative treatment option for this indication. In other fragility fractures, most notably hip fractures, urgent surgical treatment can reduce mortality. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether treatment with RTSA can reduce 1-year mortality in elderly patients with complex displaced PHFs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed to compare 1-year mortality between 2 groups of elderly patients (>75 years old) who presented to a level 1 trauma center emergency department with complex displaced PHFs. The conservative treatment group (n = 83; mean age, 83.7 years) presented from 2008 to 2010 when RTSA was not yet available, and treatment was nonoperative. The surgical treatment group (n = 62; mean age, 82.2 years) presented from 2012 to 2015 and underwent RTSA. RESULTS: One-year mortality was 8.1% (male 7.1%; female 8.3%) in the surgical treatment group and 10.8% (male 18.8%; female 9.0%) in the conservative treatment group. The reduction in mortality in the surgical treatment group was not significant (entire cohort P = .56; males P = .35; females P = .59). DISCUSSION: Recent studies failed to show better functional results after surgical treatment with RTSA when compared to conservative treatment. This study suggests that a benefit of surgical treatment with RTSA that was not examined until now might exist-a reduction in the increased mortality risk associated with PHFs. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in 1-year mortality between the groups, although there was a trend showing lower mortality with RTSA, mostly in men. Further studies with larger populations and longer follow-up times are needed to determine whether this trend is of clinical significance.