Differential prognostic impact of type 2 diabetes mellitus in women and men with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Abstract

Introduction and objectives: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) is a common comorbidity in patients with heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Previous studies have shown that diabetic women are at higher risk of developing HF than men. However, the long-term prognosis of diabetic HFpEF patients by sex has not been extensively explored. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the differential impact of DM2 on all-cause mortality in men vs women with HFpEF after admission for acute HF.

Methods: We prospectively included 1019 consecutive HFpEF patients discharged after admission for acute HF in a single tertiary referral hospital. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the interaction between sex and DM2 regarding the risk of long-term all-cause mortality. Risk estimates were calculated as hazard ratios (HR).

Results: The mean age of the cohort was 75.6±9.5 years and 609 (59.8%) were women. The proportion of DM2 was similar between sexes (45.1% vs 49.1, P=.211). At a median (interquartile range) follow-up of 3.6 (1-4-6.8) years, 646 (63.4%) patients died. After adjustment for risk factors, comorbidities, biomarkers, echo parameters and treatment at discharge, multivariate analysis showed a differential prognostic effect of DM2 (P value for interaction=.007). DM2 was associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality in women (HR, 1.77; 95%CI, 1.41-2.21; P <.001) but not in men (HR, 1.23; 95%CI, 0.94-1.61; P=.127).

Conclusions: After an episode of acute HF in HFpEF patients, DM2 confers a higher risk of mortality in women. Further studies evaluating the impact of DM2 in women with HFpEF are warranted.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Diferencias entre sexos; Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction; Insuficiencia cardiaca con fracción de eyección preservada; Mortalidad; Mortality; Mujeres; Sex differences; Women.