Sunday, June 17, 2007

diabetes and stroke risk

Stroke Risk Doubles Within 5 Years After Diabetes Diagnosis

The risk for stroke is twice as high in patients with newly diagnosed diabetes as in the general population, according to a study in Stroke.

Using health databases of a Canadian province, researchers identified some 12,200 adults aged 30 and older with recent diagnoses of type 2 diabetes. During a mean follow-up of about 5 years, 9.1% of the patients had hospital admissions with a stroke-related diagnosis. The rate ratio for stroke was 2.1 for diabetes patients, compared with the general population.

The authors write that their results "will help to dispel the notion that macrovascular consequences of diabetes occur only in the long term" and may motivate "both patients and providers to aggressively control cardiovascular risk factors soon after diagnosis."

Stroke article (Free)





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