Incident cardiovascular disease by clustering of favourable risk factors in type 1 diabetes: the EURODIAB Prospective Complications Study.

AIMS: The aim of this prospective study was to examine CVD risk reduction in type 1 diabetes (1) for people with favourable cardiovascular health metrics and (2) by clustering of these metrics. METHODS: Data from 2313 participants from the EURODIAB Prospective Complications Study were analysed. All had type 1 diabetes (51% men, mean ± SD age 32 ± 9 years). Seven cardiovascular health metrics were studied-smoking, BMI, physical activity, a diet score, total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio, combined systolic and diastolic BP and HbA1c-divided into favourable/less favourable categories. Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate HRs (95% CIs) of incident CVD for each metric. Clusters were made by scoring each individual by the number of favourable metrics. RESULTS: A total of 163 people developed incident CVD during a mean ± SD follow-up of 7.2 ± 1.3 years. Participants with more favourable HbA1c levels of <57 mmol/mol (<7.4%) had a 37% significantly lower CVD risk than those with a less favourable HbA1c (HR [95% CI] 0.63 [0.44, 0.91]), and participants with a more favourable BP (systolic BP <112 mmHg and diastolic BP <70 mmHg) had a 44% significantly lower CVD risk than participants in the less favourable BP group (HR [95% CI] 0.56 [0.34, 0.92]). There was a dose-response relation with a lower HR observed with greater clustering of more favourable metrics: people with four or more favourable metrics had an HR of 0.37 (95% CI 0.18, 0.76), adjusted for sex and age at diabetes diagnosis, compared with those with no favourable metrics. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Low HbA1c and low BP were protective cardiovascular health metrics in our study of people with type 1 diabetes. Targeting all cardiovascular health metrics could be more effective in preventing CVD than targeting single metrics.

Higher dietary salt intake is associated with microalbuminuria, but not with retinopathy in individuals with type 1 diabetes: the EURODIAB Prospective Complications Study.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: High dietary salt intake has been associated with elevated BP and may also have a deleterious effect on microvascular complications. We studied the cross-sectional associations between dietary salt intake (estimated from 24 h urinary sodium excretion) and urinary potassium excretion on the one hand, and the prevalence of microvascular complications on the other, in individuals with type 1 diabetes. METHODS: We measured sodium and potassium concentrations in two 24 h urine samples in 1,212 individuals with type 1 diabetes (40 ± 10 years old, 51% men) who participated in the EURODIAB Prospective Complications Study. We used multiple logistic regression analyses to investigate associations between dietary salt intake and microvascular complications adjusted for age and sex, and additionally for BMI, smoking, urinary potassium excretion, antihypertensive medication and physical activity, and total energy, protein, alcohol, saturated fat and fibre intake. RESULTS: After full adjustment, 1 g/day higher dietary salt intake was positively associated with the presence of microalbuminuria (OR 1.06 [95% CI 1.01, 1.10]), but not macroalbuminuria (OR 0.99 [95% CI 0.94, 1.05]), non-proliferative retinopathy (OR 1.00 (95% CI 0.96, 1.04]) or proliferative retinopathy (OR 1.02 (95% CI 0.95, 1.08]). After excluding individuals with cardiovascular disease and/or antihypertensive medication (n = 418), we found a non-significant association with microalbuminuria (OR 1.04 [95% CI 0.99, 1.10]) and macroalbuminuria (OR 1.05 [95% CI 0.96, 1.16]). The association between dietary salt intake and microalbuminuria was stronger in individuals with a BMI above 25 kg/m(2) (OR 1.11 [95% CI 1.04, 1.18]) than in those with BMI below 25 kg/m(2) (OR 1.03 [95% CI 0.97, 1.09]). No significant associations were found between urinary potassium excretion and microvascular complications. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: In individuals with type 1 diabetes, higher dietary salt intake, as determined by 24 h urinary sodium excretion, may be positively associated with microalbuminuria, particularly in overweight individuals.

Protein intake in relation to risk of hypertension and microalbuminuria in patients with type 1 diabetes: the EURODIAB Prospective Complications Study.

BACKGROUND: A beneficial association between dietary protein intake (especially from plant sources) with incident hypertension, being strongly correlated to microalbuminuria, has been suggested in healthy populations. Evidence from diabetic populations, in which the prevalence of these diseases is high, is lacking. We examined the associations of total, animal and plant protein intake with incident hypertension (n = 1319) and microalbuminuria (n = 1045) in patients from 16 European countries with type 1 diabetes from the clinic-based EURODIAB Prospective Complications study. METHODS: Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for incident hypertension after 7 years of follow-up were calculated in tertiles of protein intake (energy%) with adjustments for age, sex, diabetes duration, HbA1c, BMI, physical activity, smoking, alcohol, total energy, total fat and carbohydrate intake. RESULTS: After adjustment for potential confounders, total, animal and plant protein intakes were not related to incident hypertension (298 cases). OR's (95% CI) across increasing tertiles of total protein were 1.00 (ref), 0.86 (0.60-1.25) and 0.91 (0.59-1.43). Furthermore, no relation was observed with incident microalbuminuria (135 cases), with ORs (95% CI) across increasing tertiles of total protein being 1.00 (ref), 0.88 (0.53-1.48) and 1.08 (0.57-2.04). CONCLUSION: Results from our study did not provide evidence that a protein intake commonly consumed by European patients with type 1 diabetes is associated with incident hypertension or microalbuminuria. Prospective studies with more detailed information on dietary intake (including mineral intake) are needed to confirm these findings, and to investigate the impact on vascular and renal complications of a long-term very high protein intake in patients with type 1 diabetes.

Do European people with type 1 diabetes consume a high atherogenic diet? 7-year follow-up of the EURODIAB Prospective Complications Study.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Individuals with type 1 diabetes have a high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, and it has been reported that they consume a high atherogenic diet. We examined how nutrient intake and adherence to current European nutritional recommendations evolved in a large cohort of European individuals with type 1 diabetes over a period of 7 years. SUBJECTS/METHODS: We analysed data from the EURODIAB Prospective Complications Study, a European multicentre prospective cohort study. Standardized 3-day dietary records were employed in individuals with type 1 diabetes. One thousand one hundred and two patients (553 men, 549 women, baseline age 33 ± 10 years, duration 15 ± 9 years) had complete nutritional data available at baseline and after 7 years. We calculated mean differences in reported nutrients over time and adjusted these for age, gender, HbA1c and BMI with ANOVA models. RESULTS: Compared to baseline, there were minor changes in nutrients. Reported protein (-0.35% energy (en), fat (-1.07% en), saturated fat (-0.25% en) and cholesterol (-7.42 mg/1000 kcal) intakes were lower, whereas carbohydrate (+1.23% en) and fibre (+0.46 g/1000 kcal) intakes were higher at the 7-year follow-up. European recommendations for adequate nutrient intakes were followed in individuals with type 1 diabetes for protein (76% at baseline and 78% at follow-up), moderately for fat (34, 40%), carbohydrate (34, 41%) and cholesterol (39, 47%), but poorly for fibre (1.4, 2.4%) and saturated fat (11, 13%). CONCLUSION: European individuals with type 1 diabetes consume a high atherogenic diet as few patients met recommendations for dietary fibre and saturated fat. This study showed minor changes in dietary nutrients and energy intakes over a period of 7 years. Nutrition education needs particular focus on strategies to increase dietary fibre and reduce saturated fat to exploit their potential benefit.

Risk factors for coronary heart disease in type 1 diabetic patients in Europe: the EURODIAB Prospective Complications Study.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of the study was to examine risk factors in the prediction of coronary heart disease (CHD) and differences in men and women in the EURODIAB Prospective Complications Study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Baseline risk factors and CHD at follow-up were assessed in 2,329 type 1 diabetic patients without prior CHD. CHD was defined as physician-diagnosed myocardial infarction, angina pectoris, coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and/or Minnesota-coded ischemic electrocardiograms or fatal CHD. RESULTS: There were 151 patients who developed CHD, and the 7-year incidence rate was 8.0 (per 1,000 person-years) in men and 10.2 in women. After adjustment for age and/or duration of diabetes, the following risk factors were related to CHD in men: age, GHb, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), HDL cholesterol, smoking, albumin excretion rate (AER), and autonomic neuropathy. The following risk factors were related to CHD in women: age, systolic blood pressure (BP), fasting triglycerides, AER, and retinopathy. Multivariate standardized Cox proportional hazards models showed that age (hazard ratio 1.5), AER (1.3 in men and 1.6 in women), WHR (1.3 in men), smoking (1.5 in men), fasting triglycerides (1.3 in women) or HDL cholesterol (0.74 in women), and systolic BP (1.3 in women) were predictors of CHD. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the evidence for a strong predictive role of baseline albuminuria in the pathogenesis of CHD in type 1 diabetes. Furthermore, sex-specific risk factors such as systolic BP, fasting triglycerides (or HDL cholesterol), and WHR were found to be important in the development of CHD.