Clinical characteristics and mortality in novel subgroups of adult-onset diabetes in an Australian population-based cohort of men.

Abstract

Aims: To determine the prevalence of the novel diabetes subgroups in a population-based study, and investigate clinical characteristics and mortality in these subgroups compared to participants without diabetes.

Methods: Men from the Geelong Osteoporosis study (n = 895) were categorised according to diabetes status. Men with diabetes (n = 105) were categorised into the severe auto-immune diabetes (SAID) subgroup based on islet antibody seropositivity. The remaining men were then classified into the other subgroups using k-means clustering. ANOVA and chi-squared tests were used to determine differences in demographics, lifestyle factors and comorbidities between the novel diabetes subgroups and normoglycaemia (n = 790). Cox proportional hazard models were used to compare mortality over a median of 11.8 years (IQR 9.7-11.3). A p-value< 0.05 was considered significant, models were adjusted for age, physical activity, and systolic blood pressure.

Results: Compared to men with normoglycaemia, mean blood pressure and cardiovascular comorbidities were higher in the mild obesity-related diabetes (MOD), mild age-related diabetes (MARD), and severe insulin-resistant diabetes (SIRD) subgroups. The MARD subgroup was associated with higher mortality in unadjusted models (HR 5.5, 95 %CI 3.6-8.4); although this was attenuated after adjustment. In unadjusted models, mortality was not different in the SIRD subgroup, however, after adjustment this subgroup had higher mortality (HR 2.0; 95 %CI 1.0-3.9).

Conclusions: These data may influence choice of antihyperglycaemic medication and management of cardiovascular risk factors in men with type 2 diabetes particularly in the SIRD subgroup which is associated with cardiovascular-related comorbidities, and mortality.