Temporal trends in cardiovascular burden among patients with prostate cancer receiving androgen deprivation therapy: a population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Although androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is associated with cardiovascular risks, the extent and temporal trends of cardiovascular burden amongst patients with prostate cancer receiving ADT are unclear. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed adults with PCa receiving ADT between 1993-2021 in Hong Kong, with follow-up until 31/9/2021 for the primary outcome of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; composite of cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure), and the secondary outcome of mortality. Patients were stratified into four groups by the year of ADT initiation for comparisons. RESULTS: Altogether, 13,537 patients were included (mean age 75.5 ± 8.5 years old; mean follow-up 4.7 ± 4.3 years). More recent recipients of ADT had more cardiovascular risk factors and used more cardiovascular or antidiabetic medications. More recent recipients of ADT had higher risk of MACE (most recent (2015-2021) vs least recent (1993-2000) group: hazard ratio 1.33 [1.11, 1.59], P = 0.002; Ptrend < 0.001), but lower risk of mortality (hazard ratio 0.76 [0.70, 0.83], P < 0.001; Ptrend < 0.001). The 5-year risk of MACE and mortality for the most recent group were 22.5% [20.9%, 24.2%] and 52.9% [51.3%, 54.6%], respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular risk factors were increasingly prevalent amongst patients with prostate cancer receiving ADT, with increasing risk of MACE despite decreasing mortality.

The Rationalisation of Intra-Operative Imaging During Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: One critical complication of cardiac surgery is cerebrovascular accidents (CVAs). Ascending aorta atherosclerosis poses a significant risk of embolisation to distal vessels and to cerebral arteries. Epi-aortic ultrasonography (EUS) is thought to offer a safe, high-quality accurate visualisation of the diseased aorta to guide the surgeon on the best surgical approach to the planned procedure and potentially improve neurological outcomes post-cardiac surgery. METHOD: The authors conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, Scopus and Embase. Studies that reported on epi-aortic ultrasound use in cardiac surgery were included. Major exclusion criteria were: (1) abstracts, conference presentations, editorials, literature reviews; (2) case series with <5 participants; (3) epi-aortic ultrasound in trauma or other surgeries. RESULTS: A total of 59 studies and 48,255 patients were included in this review. Out of the studies that reported patient co-morbidities prior to cardiac surgery, 31.6% had diabetes, 59.5% had hyperlipidaemia and 66.1% had a diagnosis of hypertension. Of those that reported significant ascending aorta atherosclerosis found on EUS, this ranged from 8.3% of patients to 95.2% with a mean percentage of 37.8%. Hospital mortality ranged from 7% to 13%; four studies reported zero deaths. Long-term mortality and stroke rate varied significantly with hospital duration. CONCLUSION: Current data have shown EUS to have superiority over manual palpation and transoesophageal echocardiography in the prevention of CVAs following cardiac surgery. Yet, EUS has not been implemented as a routine standard of care. Extensive adoption of EUS in clinical practice is warranted to aid large, randomised trials before making prospective conclusions on the efficacy of this screening method.

Triglyceride-glucose index and the risk of heart failure: Evidence from two large cohorts and a mendelian randomization analysis.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index, an emerging marker of insulin resistance, and the risk of incident heart failure (HF) was unclear. This study thus aimed to investigate this relationship. METHODS: Subjects without prevalent cardiovascular diseases from the prospective Kailuan cohort (recruited during 2006-2007) and a retrospective cohort of family medicine patients from Hong Kong (recruited during 2000-2003) were followed up until December 31st, 2019 for the outcome of incident HF. Separate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) summarizing the relationship between TyG index and HF risk in the two cohorts were combined using a random-effect meta-analysis. Additionally, a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) of published genome-wide association study data was performed to assess the causality of observed associations. RESULTS: In total, 95,996 and 19,345 subjects from the Kailuan and Hong Kong cohorts were analyzed, respectively, with 2,726 cases of incident HF in the former and 1,709 in the latter. Subjects in the highest quartile of TyG index had the highest risk of incident HF in both cohorts (Kailuan: aHR 1.23 (95% confidence interval: 1.09-1.39), PTrend <0.001; Hong Kong: aHR 1.21 (1.04-1.40), PTrend =0.007; both compared with the lowest quartile). Meta-analysis showed similar results (highest versus lowest quartile: HR 1.22 (1.11-1.34), P < 0.001). Findings from MR analysis, which included 47,309 cases and 930,014 controls, supported a causal relationship between higher TyG index and increased risk of HF (odds ratio 1.27 (1.15-1.40), P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: A higher TyG index is an independent and causal risk factor for incident HF in the general population. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: https://www.chictr.org.cn ; Unique identifier: ChiCTR-TNRC-11,001,489.

Tricuspid regurgitation in His bundle pacing: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to explore an association of new TR and its quantification in patients undergoing His bundle pacing (HBP). METHODS: A literature review was conducted using Mesh terms (His bundle pacing, tricuspid regurgitation, tricuspid valve incompetence, etc.) in PubMed, EMBASE, Web of science CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library till October 2021. Relevant studies evaluating tricuspid regurgitation in HBP were included and information regarding TR and its related factors (ejection fraction (EF) and New York Heart Association (NYHA) class) were retrieved from the eligible studies. RESULTS: Out of 196 articles, 10 studies met the inclusion criteria, which consisted of 546 patients with HBP. The mean age of the patients ranged between 61.2 ± 12.3 and 75.1 ± 7.9 years with 54.1% males. The overall implant success rate was 79.2%. Only one study reported a 5% incidence of TR, while 9 studies reported no new TR after HBP. Four studies reported overall decrease in TR by 1 grade and 3 studies demonstrated increased TR from baseline. Two studies showed no change from baseline TR. CONCLUSION: HBP causes improvement in TR grade after HBP for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) as well as atrioventricular block (AVB). Further studies in the form of randomized controlled trials are required to further evaluate the effect of HBP on tricuspid valve functioning.

Arrhythmias and Conduction Disturbances in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis-A Systematic Literature Review.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by skin and internal organ fibrosis and microvascular impairment, which can affect major organs, including the heart. Arrhythmias are responsible for approximately 6% of deaths in patients with SSc, and mainly occur due to myocardial fibrosis, which causes electrical inhomogeneity. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of arrhythmias and conduction disturbances in SSc cohorts, and to identify the characteristics and risk factors associated with the occurrence of dysrhythmias in patients with SSc. A systematic literature review using PubMed, Embase, Web of Science and Scopus databases was performed. Full-text articles in English with arrhythmias as the main topic published until 21 April 2022 were included. Most prevalent arrhythmias were premature supraventricular and ventricular contractions, while the most frequent conduction disturbance was represented by right bundle branch block (RBBB). Elevated concentrations of N-terminal prohormones of brain natriuretic peptides (NT-pro BNP) were associated with numerous types of atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, and with the occurrence of RBBB. A lower value of the turbulence slope (TS) emerged as an independent predictor for ventricular arrhythmias. In conclusion, dysrhythmias are frequent in SSc cohorts. Paraclinical and laboratory parameters are useful instruments that could lead to early diagnosis in the course of the disease.

Modifiable Lifestyle Risk Factors in Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer: A Nationally Representative Study.

OBJECTIVE: Given the vulnerable health condition of adult childhood cancer survivors, it is essential that they develop positive health behaviors to minimize controllable health risks. Therefore, we evaluated if adult survivors of non-childhood cancer and childhood cancer differ in the odds of each modifiable risk factor compared with each other and compared with the general population. METHODS: This nationally representative study leveraged the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) sample from 2000 to 2018 and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) sample from 2016 to 2021. Our study population included adults diagnosed with cancer when they were ≤14 years of age. Outcomes included physical activity, body mass index (BMI), current smoking, ever-smoking, alcohol use, and binge drinking. RESULTS: Insufficient physical activity was not statistically significant in the BRFSS, but in the NHIS, childhood cancer survivors had significantly more insufficient physical activity compared with non-childhood cancer survivors (aOR 1.29, P=0.038) and the general population (aOR 1.40, P=0.006). Childhood cancer survivors also had a higher likelihood of being significantly underweight (aOR 1.84, P=0.018) and having ever-smoked (aOR 1.42, P=0.001) compared with the general population in the NHIS. There was a significantly higher likelihood of smoking among childhood cancer survivors in the BRFSS (aOR 2.02, P=0.004). CONCLUSIONS: The likelihoods of many risky behaviors between adult childhood cancer survivors and general population controls were comparable, although rates of physical activity may be decreased, and rates of smoking may be increased among childhood cancer survivors. Targeted interventions are needed to promote healthy behaviors in this vulnerable population.

Pericarditis After Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation: Predictors and Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Catheter ablation is a mainstay of atrial fibrillation (AF) treatment. Acute pericarditis after ablation is 1 of the frequently observed complications. There is a significant lack of data on the incidence and predictors of postablation pericarditis. OBJECTIVES: This study examines the incidence, characteristics, and predictors of pericarditis after AF ablation. METHODS: Patients undergoing AF ablation from January 1, 2016, to March 31, 2022, at Johns Hopkins were prospectively enrolled in an AF ablation registry. A clinical diagnosis of acute pericarditis was established in accordance with 2015 European Society of Cardiology guidelines by the presence of at least 2 of the following characteristics: pleuritic chest pain, friction rub, typical electrocardiographic changes, or pericardial effusion within 3 months after the ablation procedure. RESULTS: Of 1,540 patients who underwent AF ablation, 57 patients (3.7%) developed acute pericarditis. Baseline clinical characteristics including age, sex, and body mass index were comparable between the pericarditis and nonpericarditis groups. The median time to symptom onset was 1 day. Electrocardiographic changes were observed in 34 (59.6%) patients, pericardial effusion developed in 7 (12%) patients, and the mean duration of medical treatment was 7 days (25th-75th percentile: 3-14 days). Most pericarditis cases were treated medically with disease-specific nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (100%) and colchicine (81%). Effusion with tamponade necessitating pericardiocentesis was observed in 4 (7%) patients. Radiofrequency (RF) ablation was performed in 869 (58.6%) patients in the nonpericarditis group and 39 (68.4%) patients with pericarditis; cryoballoon ablation was performed in 486 (32.8%) patients in the nonpericarditis group and 11 (19.3%) patients with pericarditis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified RF ablation (OR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.07-4.08; P = 0.03) as an independent predictor of acute pericarditis after AF ablation, whereas age per unit increase was associated with a decreased risk (OR: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.95-0.995; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of acute pericarditis after catheter ablation in our study population was 3.7%. RF ablation and younger age were independent risk factors for postablation acute pericarditis.

The modified Rajan's heart failure risk score predicts all-cause mortality in patients hospitalized for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: The dimensionless Rajan's heart failure (R-hf) risk score was proposed to predict all-cause mortality in patients hospitalized with chronic heart failure (HF) and reduced ejection fraction (EF) (HFrEF). Purpose: To examine the association between the modified R-hf risk score and all-cause mortality in patients with HFrEF. Methods: Retrospective cohort study included adults hospitalized with HFrEF, as defined by clinical symptoms of HF with biplane EF less than 40% on transthoracic echocardiography, at a tertiary centre in Dalian, China, between 1 November 2015, and 31 October 2019. All patients were followed up until 31 October 2020. A modified R-hf risk score was calculated by substituting brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) for N-terminal prohormone of BNP (NT-proBNP) using EF× estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)× haemoglobin (Hb))/BNP. The patients were stratified into tertiles according to the R-hf risk score. The measured outcome was all-cause mortality. The score performance was assessed using C-statistics. Results: A total of 840 patients were analyzed (70.2% males; mean age, 64±14 years; median (interquartile range) follow-up 37.0 (27.8) months). A lower modified R-hf risk score predicted a higher risk of all-cause mortality, independent of sex and age [1st tertile vs. 3rd tertile: adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 3.46; 95% CI: 2.11-5.67; P<0.001]. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that a lower modified R-hf risk score was associated with increased cumulative all-cause mortality [univariate: (1st tertile vs. 3rd tertile: aHR, 3.45; 95% CI: 2.11-5.65; P<0.001) and multivariate: (1st tertile vs. 3rd tertile: aHR 2.21, 95% CI: 1.29-3.79; P=0.004)]. The performance of the model, as reported by C-statistic was 0.67 (95% CI: 0.62-0.72). Conclusion: The modified R-hf risk score predicted all-cause mortality in patients hospitalized with HFrEF. Further validation of the modified R-hf risk score in other cohorts of patients with HFrEF is needed before clinical application.

Effects of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists on Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence After Catheter Ablation.

BACKGROUND: Relationship between glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) use prior to atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation and subsequent AF recurrence is not well-understood. OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the effects of GLP-1 RA use within 1 year before ablation and its association with AF recurrence and associated outcomes. METHODS: The TriNetX research database was used to identify patients aged ≥18 years undergoing AF ablation (2014-2023). Patients were categorized into 2 groups, and propensity score matching (1:1) between preablation GLP-1 RA users and nonusers was performed based on demographics, comorbidities, body mass index, laboratory tests, AF subtype, and medications. Primary outcome was composite of cardioversion, new antiarrhythmic drug therapy, or repeat AF ablation after a 3-month blanking period following the index ablation. Additional outcomes included ischemic stroke, all-cause hospitalization, and mortality during 12-month follow-up period. RESULTS: After 1:1 propensity score matching, the study cohort comprised 1,625 GLP-1 RA users and 1,625 matched GLP-1 RA nonusers. Preablation GLP-1 RA therapy was not associated with a lower risk of cardioversion, new AAD therapy, and repeat AF ablation after the index procedure (HR: 1.04 [95% CI: 0.92-1.19]; log-rank P = 0.51). Furthermore, the risk of ischemic stroke, all-cause hospitalization, and mortality during the 12-month follow-up period did not differ between the 2 groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that preprocedural use of GLP-1 RAs is not associated with a reduced risk of AF recurrence or associated adverse outcomes following ablation, and underscore the need for future research to determine whether these agents improve outcome in AF patients.

Rural/urban disparities in the trends and outcomes of peripartum cardiomyopathy in delivery hospitalizations.

BACKGROUND: Rural-urban disparities in peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) are not well known. We examined rural-urban differences in maternal, fetal, and cardiovascular outcomes in PPCM during delivery hospitalizations. METHODS: We used 2003-2020 data from the National Inpatient Sample for delivery hospitalizations in individuals with PPCM. The 9th and 10th editions of the International Classification of Diseases were used to identify PPCM and cardiovascular, maternal, and fetal outcomes. Rural and urban hospitalizations for PPCM were 1:1 propensity score-matched using relevant clinical and sociodemographic variables. Odds of in-hospital mortality were assessed using logistic regression. RESULTS: Among 72,880 delivery hospitalizations with PPCM, 4,571 occurred in rural locations, while 68,309 occurred in urban locations. After propensity matching, there were a total of 4,571 rural-urban pairs. There was significantly higher in-hospital mortality in urban compared to rural hospitalizations (adjusted OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.10-1.89). Urban PPCM hospitalizations had significantly higher cardiogenic shock (2.9% vs. 1.3%), mechanical circulatory support (1.0% vs. 0.6%), cardiac arrest (2.3% vs. 0.9%), and VT/VF (4.5% vs. 2.1%, all p <.05). Additionally, urban PPCM hospitalizations had worse maternal and fetal outcomes as compared to rural hospitalizations, including higher preterm delivery, gestational diabetes, and fetal death (all p<.05). Notably, significantly more rural individuals were transferred to a short-term hospital (including tertiary care centers) compared to urban individuals (13.5% vs. 3.2%, p<.0001). CONCLUSIONS: There are significant rural-urban disparities in delivery hospitalizations with PPCM. Worse outcomes were associated with urban hospitalizations, while rural PPCM hospitalizations were associated with increased transfers, suggesting inadequate resources and advanced sickness.

Cardiovascular health of patients with cancer: Challenges abound.

Patients with cancer have elevated cardiovascular risks compared to those without cancer. As cancer incidence increases and cancer-related mortality decreases, cardiovascular diseases in patients with a history of cancer will become increasingly important. This in turn is reflected by the exponentially increasing amount of cardio-oncology research in recent years. This narrative review aims to summarize the key existing literature in several main areas of cardio-oncology, including the epidemiology, natural history, prevention, management, and determinants of the cardiovascular health of patients with cancer, and identify relevant gaps in evidence for further research.

Cardio-Obstetrics Approach in Management of Marfan Syndrome During Pregnancy.

Management of Marfan syndrome and its complications during pregnancy requires a multidisciplinary approach to minimize adverse maternal and fetal outcomes. We present 2 cases to highlight the key considerations and management strategies addressed by the pregnancy heart team for patients with Marfan syndrome with and without chronic dissection.

Trends and Outcomes of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation in Patients With Peripheral Arterial Disease: Insights From the National Readmissions Database.

Due to shared risk factors, many patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) also have concomitant peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The readmission rates and long term clinical outcomes of these patients following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in a large sample has not been well defined. The National Readmissions Database (NRD) (2015-2019) was used to identify patients undergoing TAVI. TAVI in patients with PAD was compared with those without PAD using a propensity score matched (PSM) analysis to obtain adjusted odds ratios (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of net adverse clinical events (NACE), and its components. A total of 189,216 patients were identified, of which 14,925 patients (7386 with PAD, 7539 without PAD) were selected for adjusted analysis. Using PSM, patients with PAD undergoing TAVI had significantly higher in-hospital adjusted odds of NACE (aOR 1.60, 95% CI 1.36-1.88), and mortality (aOR 4.10, 95% CI 2.88-5.83). However, rates of other in-hospital peri procedural complications (stroke, major bleeding, paravalvular leak, cardiogenic shock) were not significantly different. There was no significant difference in the incidence of NACE, mortality, or other complications between the 2 groups at 30- and 180 days follow-up. Patients with PAD undergoing TAVI have an increased risk of mortality and NACE during the periprocedural period. However, following discharge, there was no statistically significant difference in 30 days and 6 month outcomes of TAVI in this population compared to those without significant PAD.

Bullying in Cardiology: Pakistan's Perspective.

This survey aimed to investigate the extent of bullying among junior physicians in cardiology departments, by way of an anonymous web-based questionnaire in Pakistan. A survey of Pakistan cardiology trainees was piloted as a cross-sectional qualitative survey of junior cardiologists (including resident physicians and senior registrars) from teaching institutes all over Pakistan. Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised was used as the tool for monitoring and reporting bullying nationwide. Of 1852 trainees, bullying was reported by 10.2% of males and 13.4% of females. Women had higher odds of reporting being bullied (odds ratio [OR] {95% confidence interval [CI]}: 1.42 [1.07-2.36]; P-value = 0.018), and the religious minority group (Hindu) reported more bullying (OR [95% CI]: 3.27 [2.16-4.73]; P-value < 0.001). Women were more likely than men to report sexist language (24.1% vs 7.5%; P-value < 0.001) while men reported more racist language (4.2% vs 16.5%; P-value < 0.001). Consultants in cardiology (75.4%) and other specialties (68.3%) commonly perpetrated bullying on cardiology trainees. Bullying in cardiology is a common finding and proportionally affects both males and females, religious minorities, and trainees working in tertiary care hospitals. In addition, females are reporting more sexist language being used by consultants as the majority.

Urban-Rural Disparities in Pulmonary Hypertension-Related Mortality Between 2004 and 2019: A Call to Improve Access to Specialty Care Centers for Rural Residents in the United States.

As rural-urban pulmonary hypertension (PH)-related mortality trends have not been reported past 2011, it is important to update the literature to provide guidance for necessary initiatives geared at minimizing barriers to social determinants of health. We extracted PH-related data between 2004 and 2019 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-Ranging OnLine Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER). Crude-mortality rate and age-adjusted mortality rate (AAMR) were determined. Associated annual percent changes and average annual percentage changes (AAPCs) were computed using Joinpoint Regression Program trend analysis software. A total of 353, 916 PH-related deaths occurred in the study population within the United States between 2004 and 2019 out of 3,326,222,482 total deaths. The overall rural PH-related AAMR was 10.75 per 100,000 individuals. The overall urban PH-related AAMR was 9.70 per 100,000 individuals. Both rural and urban county subgroups demonstrated increases in AAMR during the study period. Notably, 8.5% of specialty centers are in rural counties while 91.5% of centers are located in urban counties. Given the crucial role of early treatment at specialty centers in PH disease courses, we highlight higher mortality rates among rural county individuals. Specialty center accessibility for these patients must improve.

Arrhythmias Beyond Atrial Fibrillation Detection Using Smartwatches: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Over the past few years, smartwatches have become increasingly popular in the monitoring of arrhythmias. Although the detection of atrial fibrillation with smartwatches has been the subject of various articles, there is no comprehensive research on the detection of arrhythmias other than atrial fibrillation. In this study, we included individual cases from the literature to identify the characteristics of patients with smartwatch-detected arrhythmias other than atrial fibrillation. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and SCOPUS were searched for case reports, case series, or cohort studies that reported individual participant-level data, until January 6, 2022. The following search string was used for each databases: ('Smart Watch' OR 'Apple Watch' OR 'Samsung Gear') AND ('Supraventricular Tachycardia' OR 'Cardiac Arrhythmia' OR 'Ventricular Tachycardia' OR 'Atrioventricular Nodal Reentry Tachycardia' OR 'Atrioventricular Reentrant Tachycardia' OR 'Heart Block' OR 'Atrial Flutter' OR 'Ectopic Atrial Tachycardia' OR 'Bradyarrhythmia'). RESULTS: A total of 52 studies from PubMed, 20 studies from Embase, and 200 studies from SCOPUS were identified. After screening, 18 articles were included. A total of 22 patients were obtained from 14 case reports or case series. Four cohort studies evaluating various arrhythmias were included. Arrhythmias, including ventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, atrioventricular nodal reentry tachycardia, atrioventricular reentrant tachycardia, second- or third-degree atrioventricular block, and sinus bradycardia, were detected with smartwatches. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac arrhythmias other than atrial fibrillation are also commonly detected with smartwatches. Smartwatches have an important potential besides traditional methods in the detection of arrhythmias and clinical practice.

Risk of diabetes mellitus among users of immune checkpoint inhibitors: A population-based cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are increasingly established cancer therapeutics, but they are associated with new-onset diabetes mellitus (DM). Such risks have not been adequately quantified, and between-class and -sex differences remain unexplored. METHODS: This was a prospective cohort study of cancer patients receiving any ICI in Hong Kong between 2013 and 2021. Patients with known DM were excluded. Due to few patients using other ICIs, only programmed cell death 1 inhibitors (PD-1i) and programmed death ligand 1 inhibitors (PD-L1i) were compared, alongside between-sex comparison. When comparing PD-1i against PD-L1i, patients with the use of other ICIs or both PD-1i and PD-L1 were further excluded. Inverse probability treatment weighting (IPTW) was used to minimize between-group covariate imbalances. RESULTS: Altogether, 3375 patients were analyzed (65.2% males, median age 62.2 [interquartile range 53.8-69.5] years old). Over a median follow-up of 1.0 [0.4-2.4] years, new-onset DM occurred in 457 patients (13.5%), with a 3-year risk of 14.5% [95% confidence interval 13.3%, 15.8%]. IPTW achieve acceptable covariate balance between sexes, and between PD-1i (N = 622) and PD-L1i (N = 2426) users. Males had significantly higher risk of new-onset DM (hazard ratio 1.35 [1.09, 1.67], p = 0.006), while PD-1i and PD-L1i users did not have significantly different risks (hazard ratio vs PD-L1i 0.81 [0.59, 1.11], p = 0.182). These were consistent in those with at least 1 year of follow-up, and on competing risk regression. CONCLUSION: Users of ICI may have a substantial risk of new-onset DM, which may be higher in males but did not differ between PD-1i and PD-L1i.

HbA1c Variability and Cardiovascular Events in Patients with Prostate Cancer Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy.

Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) worsens glycaemic control and cardiovascular outcomes. The prognostic value of visit-to-visit HbA1c variability (VVHV) has been unexplored in prostate cancer (PCa) patients receiving ADT. Objective: To explore the effect of ADT on VVHV and the cardiovascular prognostic value of VVHV. Design setting and participants: PCa patients receiving ADT in Hong Kong between January 1, 1993 and March 31, 2021 were included in this retrospective cohort study. Those with fewer than three HbA1c results available within 3 yr after ADT initiation, <6 mo of ADT, missing baseline HbA1c, prior diagnosis of any component of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), and MACEs occurring within 3 yr were excluded. Patients were followed up until September 31, 2021. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: The outcome was MACEs (composite of heart failure, myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiovascular mortality). VVHV was calculated from HbA1c levels within 3 yr after and, separately where available, before ADT initiation using coefficient of variation (CV; standard deviation [SD] divided by mean) and average real variability (ARV; average difference between consecutive measurements). Results and limitations: Altogether, 1065 patients were analysed (median age 74.4 yr old [interquartile range 68.3-79.5 yr]). In 709 patients with VVHV available before and after ADT initiation, VVHV increased after ADT initiation (p < 0.001), with 473 (66.2%) and 474 (66.9%) having increased CV and ARV, respectively. Over a median follow-up of 4.3 yr (2.8-6.7 yr), higher VVHV was associated with a higher risk of MACEs (adjusted hazard ratio [per SD] for CV 1.21 [95% confidence interval: 1.02, 1.43], p = 0.029; ARV 1.25 [1.06, 1.48], p = 0.008). Limitations included residual confounding and selection bias. Conclusions: In PCa patients receiving ADT, VVHV increased after ADT initiation. Higher VVHV was associated with an increased risk of MACEs. Patient summary: In prostate cancer patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), glycaemic control is less stable after initiating ADT, which was associated with an increased cardiovascular risk.