Undiagnosed impaired glucose tolerance and type-2 diabetes in acute myocardial infarction patients: fequency, characteristics and long-term mortality

Background In this study we investigated the prevalence of undiagnosed impaired glucose tolerance and type-2-diabetes (T2D) among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and prospectively analyzed whether these patients have a higher long-term mortality. Methods The analysis was based on 2,317 AMI patients aged 25–84 years from the population-based Myocardial Infarction Registry Augsburg, recruited between 2009 and 2014 and followed-up until 2019 (median follow-up time 6.5 years [IQR: 4.9–8.1]). AMI patients with a diagnosis of diabetes were divided into a high (>7.0%) and a low HbA1c group (≤7.0%) according to HbA1c values at admission. The remaining patients (without known diabetes) were grouped into normal (<5.7%), elevated (5.7–6.4%), and high (≥6.5%) HbA1c groups. In a multivariable-adjusted COX regression analysis, the association between HbA1c groups and long-term mortality was investigated. Linear regression models were used to identify AMI patients with elevated HbA1c values by means of personal characteristics. Results At admission, 29.5% of all patients reported a diagnosis of diabetes. Of all patients without known diabetes, 5.4% had HbA1c values of ≥ 6.5 and 37.9% had HbA1c values between 5.7 and 6.4%. The fully adjusted Cox regression model showed a non-significant trend toward higher long-term mortality for AMI patients with increased HbA1c values (HbA1c 5.7–6.4% HR: 1.05 [0.79–1.38], HbA1c > 6.5% HR: 1.34 [0.77–2.31]). A linear regression model including the variables admission serum glucose, BMI, age, sex and type of infarction (STEMI, NSTEMI) showed only poor prediction of HbA1c values (R2: 11.08%). Conclusion A fairly high number of AMI patients without known diabetes have elevated HbA1c values. Though we could not prove a higher risk of premature mortality in these patients, early detection and adequate therapy might lead to reduced diabetes-associated complications and improve long-term outcomes