Research Highlights:
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Young adults with higher-than-normal blood sugar levels that indicate prediabetes were more likely to be hospitalized for a heart attack than their peers with normal blood sugar levels, according to preliminary research presented in American Heart. Association’s Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2022 .
Having prediabetes means that a person’s blood sugar levels are higher than normal, with a fasting blood sugar level between 100 and 125 mg/dL, although this is not high enough to be diagnosed. With type 2 diabetes, prediabetes is common and increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
According to the National Institutes of Health , approximately 88 million adults in the U.S., ages 18 and older, have prediabetes, which is more than one-third of American adults. Nearly 29 million adults with prediabetes are between the ages of 18 and 44.
“If left untreated, prediabetes can significantly impact health and can progress to type 2 diabetes, which is known to increase a person’s risk for cardiovascular disease,” said study author Akhil Jain, MD, a resident physician at the Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Darby, PA. “Because heart attacks are increasingly occurring in young adults, our study focused on defining risk factors relevant to this young population, so that future scientific guidelines and health policies are better able to address such cardiovascular diseases.” in relation to prediabetes.”
Researchers reviewed patient records in the National Inpatient Sample, which is the largest publicly available hospitalization database in the U.S. Specifically, records from 2018 for hospitalizations related to heart attacks among young adults ages 18 to 44.
The analysis revealed the following:
- Of the more than 7.8 million young adults* hospitalized in 2018, more than 31,000, or 0.4%, had blood sugar levels correlated with prediabetes.
- Among those with prediabetes, the incidence of heart attacks was 2.15% compared with 0.3% in young adults with normal blood sugar levels.
- Adults with prediabetes were more likely than their peers without prediabetes to have high cholesterol (68.1% vs. 47.3%, respectively) and obesity (48.9% vs. 25.7%, respectively).
- Adults with prediabetes who were hospitalized for a heart attack were more likely to be black, Hispanic, or Asian/Pacific Islander men.
- Adults with prediabetes who were hospitalized for a heart attack were more likely to have higher household incomes, to be hospitalized in urban teaching hospitals, and to be hospitalized in the Midwest and Western regions of the US, compared with adults with heart attacks who did not have prediabetes.
“After considering several factors that influence and lead to changes, we found that young adults with prediabetes were 1.7 times more likely to be hospitalized for a heart attack compared to their peers without prediabetes,” Jain said. “Despite having a higher chance of having a heart attack, young adults with prediabetes did not have a higher incidence of other major adverse cardiovascular events, such as cardiac arrest or stroke.”
While prediabetes is a precursor to type 2 diabetes and other serious health complications, it can be reversed.
Many of the steps you need to take to prevent prediabetes are the same steps you need to take to prevent heart disease.
“When blood sugar levels meet the criteria for prediabetes, this is a call to action. “It is important for prediabetics to know that lifestyle changes are key to improving their glucose levels and overall health, and possibly reversing prediabetes and preventing type 2 diabetes,” said Eduardo Sánchez, MD, MPH, FAHA, FAAFP, American Heart Association medical director for prevention and director of the American Heart Association’s Know Diabetes by Heart™ initiative.
“Eating a healthy diet, being physically active, and losing weight, if necessary, are significant ways to reverse a prediabetes diagnosis. For smokers, participation in a smoking cessation program is also extremely important. Other lifestyle and behavioral changes, such as reducing stress, may seem small, but they can have a big impact on many different areas of life and make a difference too.”
According to Jain, in-depth studies on heart attacks in young adults with prediabetes are lacking and more need to be done.
“Our study should be considered as a foundation for future research to clearly establish the burden of heart disease in young adults with prediabetes, given the prevalence of prediabetes in nearly 1/3 of adults in the US. It is essential to generate raise awareness among young adults about the importance of routine medical screening, including screening for prediabetes, and taking steps to prevent or delay the development of type 2 diabetes and associated cardiovascular events, such as heart attack,” he said.
Co-authors are Rupak Desai, MBBS; Fariah Asha Haque, MBBS; Advait Vasavada, MBBS; Manisha Jain, MBBS; Rohan Desai, MD; Viralkumar Patel, MD; Saima Shawl, MBBS; Sailaja Sanikommu, MBBS; Samuel Edusa, MD; Navya Sadum, MBBS; and Thomas Alukal, MD The authors reported no external funding for this study.
