How do people with Type 2 diabetes perceive and respond to cardiovascular risk?

OBJECTIVES: To explore how people with Type 2 diabetes perceive cardiovascular risk, and how those perceptions might affect their motivation to make lifestyle changes. METHODS: The setting was a diabetes clinic in a UK teaching hospital. A qualitative study was conducted, using semistructured individual interviews and template analysis of content. The participants were 20 Type 2 diabetic patients, aged between 52 and 77 years, half with and half without cardiovascular disease (CVD). RESULTS: Whether they had CVD or not, most people were aware they were at risk of it, of its causative factors, and possible effects. However, they were more likely to attribute it to unchangeable factors like 'stress' and 'heredity', than medical risk factors like cholesterol and smoking. Patients with pre-existing CVD correctly regarded their risk as higher than those without. Few saw any direct link between being diabetic per se and cardiovascular risk. Lifestyle changes were precipitated by major life events and motivated by family support, fear of complications, and a belief that one should follow doctors' advice. A common reaction to CVD and diabetes was stoical acceptance, allowing patients to view their lives positively, whilst living with unpredictable potentially disabling diseases. CONCLUSIONS: Patients were unaware how strongly diabetes influences cardiovascular risk. Their ideas about risk were very different from those of conventional medicine, and provided individual rationales for making choices about treatment and risk-influencing behaviour. Contextual factors, such as family milieu, also influenced their behaviour. Clinicians should not assume patients share the same mental model of risk as they, and must be prepared to explore peoples' individual constructs and health beliefs.     

强化血糖控制与心血管疾病

心血管疾病作为糖尿病的最主要并发症已严重威胁人类健康.对糖尿病患者血糖的强化控制能否使心血管获益已成为目前研究的热点.通过对强化血糖控制与心血管疾病关系的研究,认为强化血糖控制与心血管获益之间的关系尚存在不确定性,需要更多循证医学研究支持.为平衡强化血糖控制的获益与风险,对糖尿病患者应早期采取积极、稳妥的个体化降糖策略,并应注重采取综合治疗方案.     

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??Summary????The prevalence of diabetes grows rapidly in our country??with women accounting for about 46% in total patients and more than 50% in the elderly patients.Diabetes is one of the main risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in middle- and old-aged women.Lost protection of estrogen??lack of diabetes prevention knowledge??bad living habits??poor self-protection ability and poor medical conditions are risks that increase diabetic damage in females.Early diabetes prevention from peri-menopausal period and strengthening of education and treatment are expected to improve the poor prognosis in elderly female diabetes patients with cardiovascular disease.     

Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) use among Polish adults with diabetes mellitus

People with diabetes mellitus have higher risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality from thrombo-vascular complications than non-diabetics and it is recommended that they should use acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) as anitiplatelet agent regularly. The aim of this study was to examine current physician counseling about ASA therapy and the use of ASA by Polish patients with diabetes. The study involved 464 randomly selected Caucasian diabetic individuals, mainly with type 2 (>98%), who were asked to complete a questionnaire consisting of 16 questions while visiting out-patient medical centres for periodical examination or during hospitalization. We collected data on the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), frequency of risk factors among diabetic patients and on ASA physician counseling, and on the rate of regular ASA users among the patients. The most self-reported conditions were angina pectoris or prior myocardial infarction (63,6%). Current cigarette smoking was declared by 7,1% of the patients, elevated serum cholesterol levels by 58%, and hypertension by 62,9%. Majority of the patients were overweight, and family history of coronary artery disease (CAD) was reported by 30,2% of the patients. ASA was taken by 67,2% of all the patients and 72,1% of them had taken ASA regularly. The highest percentage (>80%) of regular ASA users was found among diabetic patients with CAD. A minority of the patients who reported stroke (43,9%) or claudication (15,8%) were taking ASA regularly. Number of the patients (32,8%) with CVD risk factor(s) but without diagnosed CVD did not use ASA at all. The majority of the patients (78%) were counseled by their physicians why they should use ASA regularly. In conclusion: the number of regular users of ASA among diabetic patients in Poland with CVD others than CAD or among patients with at least two CAD risk factors is still unsatisfactory. Therefore, while it seems that there is a remarkable growing of ASA therapy world-wide more effort is needed to make this practice a standard of multifactorial, intensive diabetes treatment. Our results also suggest the need for more aggressive education of both doctors and patients.     

Cardiovascular Disease Morbidity and Mortality in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus

There is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality and morbidity in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus compared with the general population as shown by epidemiologic studies measuring cardiovascular endpoints, as well as by autopsy, angiographic, and coronary calcification studies. Most of the excess CVD risk associated with type 1 diabetes is concentrated in the subset of approximately 35% of patients who develop diabetic nephropathy (after 20 years of diabetes duration), who also typically have dyslipidemias, elevated blood pressure, and hyperglycemia, factors contributing to CVD. For reasons that remain speculative, the relative risks from CVD are higher in women than in men with type 1 diabetes compared with the general population, which effectively eliminates the gender differences in CVD. As in the general population and in patients with type 2 diabetes, education and lifestyle changes, interventions to reduce hyperglycemia, blood pressure, micro-albuminuria, lipid control, and the use of aspirin are important management areas in order to reduce the increased risk of CVD. Whether management with aspirin and statins should be started in type 1 diabetic patients at a younger age or at a lower risk score than in the general population is still under investigation. There is a need for a better understanding of the pathophysiology of vascular complications in type 1 diabetes, more specific risk engines in type 1 diabetes, and accurate estimations of the absolute and relative risk for CVD in order to improve management of CVD in these high-risk patients.     

Inhibitors of advanced glycation end products (AGEs): potential utility for the treatment of cardiovascular disease

Accelerated atherosclerosis and microvascular complications are the leading causes of coronary heart disease, stroke, blindness, and end-stage renal failure, which could account for disabilities and high mortality rates in patients with diabetes. Recent clinical studies have substantiated the concept of "hyperglycemic memory" in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in diabetes. Indeed, the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial-Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (DCCT-EDIC) Research, has revealed that intensive therapy during the DCCT reduces the risk of cardiovascular events by about 50% in type 1 diabetic patients 11 years after the end of the trial. Among various biochemical pathways activated under diabetic conditions, the process of formation and accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and their mode of action are most compatible with the theory "hyperglycemic memory." Further, there is a growing body of evidence that AGEs play an important role in CVD in diabetes. These observations suggest that the inhibition of AGEs formation may be a promising target for therapeutic intervention in diabetic vascular complications. Therefore, in this article, we review several agents with inhibitory effects on AGEs formation and their therapeutic implications in CVD in diabetes.     

Type-2 diabetes mellitus related cardiovascular risk: new options for interventions to reduce risk and treatment goals

Diabetes represents a state of accelerated cardiovascular risk with data from longitudinal studies suggesting that in patients with well established diabetes the risk is equivalent to those with existing cardiovascular disease. In addition, the prognosis of patients with diabetes who suffer cardiovascular disease (CVD) is much worse. There are therefore dual imperatives for all physicians, particularly those in primary care, to focus on strategies to reduce vascular risk in their patients with diabetes. There are, in parallel, background issues that make this risk modification in diabetes a priority, with the rising prevalence of disease, driven at least in part by the rising tide of obesity, and the rising cost (42% of total expenditure) of treating CVD in diabetics. Evidence for interventions that modify the CVD risk in diabetes is now strong, with unequivocal data to support multifactorial risk modification, particularly for the effective targeting of glycaemia and blood pressure (with primary evidence for bp targets below standard care) from studies such as Steno2 and UKPDS, and lipid modification through the use of statins in both secondary (HPS) and primary (CARDS) prevention of CVD in diabetes. Knowledge of these interventions is high in primary care, but implementation is variable. This is probably at least in part because primary care physicians appear to consider risk factor modification within single risk strategies, rather than adopting lifestyle and therapeutic interventions that influence multiple risks in a systematic package of care and patient follow up.     

Prevalence of diabetes and/or ischaemic heart disease in classes of increasing carotid artery atherosclerosis: an ultrasonographic study.

AIMS: To evaluate the prevalence of non-diabetic subjects and diabetic patients, with or without ischaemic heart disease (IHD), in different classes of increasing carotid atherosclerotic damage. METHODS: Using high-resolution B-mode ultrasound, we studied 598 subjects without known cardiovascular disease (CVD) or diabetes, 74 diabetic patients without CVD, 74 non-diabetic subjects with IHD and 36 patients with both diabetes and IHD. Carotid atherosclerosis was classified as: normal; thickened intima-media; non-stenotic plaque; stenotic plaque. RESULTS: Compared with subjects without diabetes or CVD, the frequency of patients with diabetes without known CVD increased significantly from 'normal' to 'stenotic plaque' (4.1%, 6.4%, 13%, 14.8% for normal, thickened intima-media, non-stenotic plaque and stenotic plaque, respectively; P = 0.0057). The same figures were 6%, 7.6%, 10.2%, 23.3% (P = 0.0007) for non-diabetic subjects with IHD, and 0%, 2%, 5.6%, 15.9% (P < 0.0001) for diabetic patients with IHD. No difference was found comparing subjects with diabetes without CVD with non-diabetic patients with IHD (P = 0.56). Using polychotomous logistic regression analysis, diabetic patients without CVD and non-diabetic subjects with IHD showed a similar association with the increasing degree of carotid atherosclerosis (P = 0.59), but significantly stronger compared with subjects without diabetes or CVD (P < 0.03 for both). CONCLUSIONS: Diabetic patients without known CVD show an advanced degree of carotid atherosclerotic damage similar to non-diabetic subjects with IHD and significantly higher compared with non-diabetic subjects without CVD. Our data support the need for an aggressive early prevention of CVD in diabetic subjects.     

提高对非酒精性脂肪性肝病的认识,早期防治代谢紊乱

非酒精性脂肪性肝病(NAFLD)十分常见,在普通人群中患病率为10%～24%,在糖尿病人群中高达70%～80%,近年来在亚太地区和我国呈上升趋势,我国上海城市社区人群中NAFLD患病率已达15%.大量研究表明NAFLD是代谢综合征在肝脏的表现,NAFLD不仅与代谢综合征密切伴随,而且还可预测2型糖尿病和心血管疾病的发生.由于肝脏是调节和控制糖脂代谢的中枢器官,肝脏脂肪沉积在代谢紊乱相关疾病的发病中起着关键作用.对专科医生尤其是内分泌科医生来说,认识到NAFLD与糖尿病和心血管疾病的密切关系至关重要.对NAFLD应该及早正确诊断,并且及时评估这些患者糖尿病和心血管疾病的风险,这对于预防糖尿病和心血管疾病具有重要意义.     

Comparative carotid echo-doppler study in diabetic and non-diabetic patients with atherosclerotic carotid macroangiopathy

Diabetes mellitus is one of the main risk factors of cerebrovascular disease (CVD). Comparing non-diabetic and diabetic patients, the latter ones have a higher incidence of stroke, which tends to occur at younger ages. This paper deals with Echo Doppler evaluation of arteries in diabetic and non-diabetic patients. The findings allow us to conclude that the correct and early treatment of diabetes as well as a possible lowering of the risks for cerebrovascular disease are obligatory steps in the primary and secondary prevention of the cerebral ischemic events in diabetic patients with carotid atheromatous lesions. This consideration may help the physicians to have a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology, and to implement the necessary treatment and prevention of CVD in the diabetic population of high-risk.     

Do people with diabetes need statins?

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus continues to increase rapidly. Persons with diabetes face a 2-fold greater absolute risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) than those without diabetes. Many diabetic patients die before reaching the hospital after a cardiovascular event. Use of statin therapy for intensive control of diabetic dyslipidemia has produced relative reductions in CVD risk of about 25% in randomized, controlled clinical trials. This is true even though low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, the primary target of statin therapy, might not be markedly elevated in diabetic patients. Most patients with diabetes or diabetes plus established CVD warrant intensive statin therapy. Statin therapy has the ability to achieve low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goals recommended in treatment guidelines. Alone or in combination with an additional lipid-lowering drug, statins may also improve triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol abnormalities in patients with diabetes.     

Cardiac risk factors in patients with diabetes mellitus and major depression

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of major depression is approximately 2-fold higher in patients with diabetes mellitus compared to medical controls. We explored the association of major depression with 8 cardiac risk factors in diabetic patients with and without evidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD). DESIGN: A mail survey questionnaire was administered to a population-based sample of 4,225 patients with diabetes to obtain data on depression status, diabetes self-care (diet, exercise, and smoking), diabetes history, and demographics. On the basis of automated data we measured diabetes complications, glycosylated hemoglobin, medical comorbidity, low-density lipid levels, triglyceride levels, diagnosis of hypertension, and evidence of microalbuminuria. Separate analyses were conducted for subgroups according to the presence or absence of CVD. SETTING: Nine primary care clinics of a nonprofit health maintenance organization. MAIN RESULTS: Patients with major depression and diabetes were 1.5- to 2-fold more likely to have 3 or more cardiovascular risk factors as patients with diabetes without depression (62.5% vs 38.4% in those without CVD, and 61.3% vs 45% in those with CVD). Patients with diabetes without CVD who met criteria for major depression were significantly more likely to be smokers, to have a body mass index (BMI) > or = 30 kg/m2, to lead a more sedentary lifestyle, and to have HbA1c levels of >8.0% compared to nondepressed patients with diabetes without heart disease. Patients with major depression, diabetes, and evidence of heart disease were significantly more likely to have a BMI > or = 30 kg/m2, a more sedentary lifestyle, and triglyceride levels > 400 mg/dl than nondepressed diabetic patients with evidence of heart disease. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with major depression and diabetes with or without evidence of heart disease have a higher number of CVD risk factors. Interventions aimed at decreasing these risk factors may need to address treatment for major depression in order to be effective.     

Considerations for treating dyslipidemia in special diabetic populations

This is a review of the problem of dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in special diabetic populations. Clearly all patients with diabetes are at increased risk for CVD compared to non-diabetic populations. But within the subset that is patients with diabetes there are individuals who are particularly vulnerable. These groups include women, who are often overlooked and undertreated for their cardiovascular risk. Additionally, it includes those with fewer resources, many from minority populations, who are at very high risk for poor preventive care and serious cardiovascular morbidity. This review details the risk for CVD in a variety of different diabetic high-risk groups. It then discusses treatment options and approaches that should be employed in these populations.     

Non-insulin-dependent Diabetes and 11-Year Mortality in Asian Indian and Melanesian Fijians

This study reports 11-year all-cause and cause-specific mortality rates according to baseline glucose tolerance for a population-based sample of adult Melanesian and Indian Fijians (n = 2638), first surveyed in 1980. Risk factors for all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in subjects with non-insulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM) are also described. The baseline survey included 75 g oral glucose tolerance tests, measurements of blood pressure, body mass index, and triceps skinfold, assays of plasma cholesterol and triglycerides, electrocardiograms, and details of smoking habits and physical activity. Mortality status was ascertained for 2546 subjects through surveillance of death certificates, medical records and interview of subjects (or relatives). Mortality rates were increased in diabetic men and women of both ethnic groups: relative risks compared to subjects without diabetes at baseline were 1.7 (CI:0.9–3.1) and 2.0 (1.1–3.7) in Melanesian and 4.2 (2.7–6.5), 3.2 (1.9–5.7) in Indian men and women, respectively. A large proportion of mortality among diabetic subjects was attributed to CVD (62 %, 66 % in Melanesian and 54 %, 58 % in Indian men and women, respectively). Mortality rates tended to be higher in Melanesians than Indians, except for diabetic men where Indians had higher total and cardiovascular disease rates. In contrast to non-diabetic Fijians, diabetic women of both ethnic groups lost their relative protection from coronary heart disease (CHD). Cox regressions for diabetic subjects showed age and fasting plasma glucose to be independent predictors of all-cause mortality in men, and age, body mass index (inversely) and systolic blood pressure in women, but lipid concentrations, and cigarette smoking were not related. After accounting for conventional CVD risk factors, diabetes conferred significantly increased risk of total, CVD, and CHD mortality. The mortality experience of Melanesian and Indian Fijians with NIDDM is similar to that documented in developed populations, with excess mortality due to cardiovascular causes.     

The impact of site and extent of clinically evident cardiovascular disease and atherosclerotic burden on new cardiovascular events in patients with Type 2 diabetes. The SMART study.

AIMS: Patients with Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease (CHD) have an excess cardiovascular risk. The relationship of both other sites [cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease (PAD)] and the extent of clinically evident cardiovascular disease (CVD) with the occurrence of new cardiovascular events have not been investigated previously in patients with diabetes. We aimed to quantify this relationship and to assess the additional influence of atherosclerotic burden. METHODS: From 1996 to 2005, 776 patients with Type 2 diabetes with (n = 458) and without (n = 318) clinically evident CVD were followed prospectively for cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, non-fatal ischaemic stroke or myocardial infarction). CVD was classified according to the site (cerebrovascular disease, CHD, PAD); the extent of atherosclerosis was expressed as the number of affected sites. Carotid intima-media thickness and albuminuria were used as markers of atherosclerotic burden. RESULTS: Compared with patients with diabetes without CVD, the hazard ratio (HR) for a cardiovascular event was 3.8 (95% confidence interval 1.7, 8.5), adjusted for age, gender and potential confounders, in those with cerebrovascular disease, 4.3 (1.9, 9.5) in those with CHD, and 4.6 (2.1, 10.2) in those with PAD. Findings were similar after additional adjustment for atherosclerotic burden. Adjusted HR was 3.4 (1.6, 6.9) for patients with diabetes with one affected site and 6.6 (3.0, 14.3) for those with two or more sites. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with Type 2 diabetes and cerebrovascular disease, CHD or PAD have strongly increased risks for future cardiovascular events which are comparable. This risk increases markedly with the number of different cardiovascular sites affected and is irrespective of atherosclerotic burden.     

Diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease: an update

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the major causes of mortality in persons with diabetes, and many factors, including hypertension, contribute to this high prevalence of CVD. Hypertension is approximately twice as frequent in patients with diabetes compared with patients without the disease. Conversely, recent data suggest that hypertensive persons are more predisposed to the development of diabetes than are normotensive persons. Furthermore, up to 75% of CVD in diabetes may be attributable to hypertension, leading to recommendations for more aggressive treatment (ie, reducing blood pressure to <130/85 mm Hg) in persons with coexistent diabetes and hypertension. Other important risk factors for CVD in these patients include the following: obesity, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia, microalbuminuria, endothelial dysfunction, platelet hyperaggregability, coagulation abnormalities, and "diabetic cardiomyopathy." The cardiomyopathy associated with diabetes is a unique myopathic state that appears to be independent of macrovascular/microvascular disease and contributes significantly to CVD morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients, especially those with coexistent hypertension. This update reviews the current knowledge regarding these risk factors and their treatment, with special emphasis on the cardiometabolic syndrome, hypertension, microalbuminuria, and diabetic cardiomyopathy. This update also examines the role of the renin-angiotensin system in the increased risk for CVD in diabetic patients and the impact of interrupting this system on the development of clinical diabetes as well as CVD.     

The effect of sodium‐glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon‐like peptide 1 agonists on cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes

Patients with type 2 diabetes have a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to the general population—with CVD accounting for two out of every three deaths in patients with diabetes. In 2008, the FDA suggested that CVD risk should be evaluated for any new antidiabetic therapy, leading to a multitude of large CVD outcome trials to assess CVD risk from these medications. Interestingly, several of these outcome trials with new novel antidiabetic therapies have demonstrated a clear and definite CVD advantage at mid‐term follow up in high‐risk patients with T2DM. In this review, we discuss two relatively new classes of diabetic drugs, sodium‐glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and glucagon‐like peptide 1 agonists, and their efficacy in improving cardiovascular outcomes.     

The Framingham and UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) risk equations do not reliably estimate the probability of cardiovascular events in a large ethnically diverse sample of patients with diabetes: the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron-MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) Study

Aims/hypothesis

Available multivariable equations for cardiovascular risk assessment in people with diabetes have been derived either from the general population or from populations with diabetes. Their utility and comparative performance in a contemporary group of patients with type 2 diabetes are not well established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Framingham and UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) risk equations in participants who took part in the Action in Diabetes and Vascular disease: Preterax and Diamicron-MR Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) trial.

Methods

The 4-year risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its constituents were estimated using two published Framingham and the UKPDS risk equations in 7,502 individuals with type 2 diabetes without prior known CVD at their enrolment in the trial.

Results

The risk of major CVD was overestimated by 170% (95% CI 146–195%) and 202% (176–231%) using the two Framingham equations. The risk of major coronary heart disease was overestimated by 198% (162–238%) with the UKPDS, and by 146% (117–179%) and 289% (243–341%) with the two different Framingham equations, respectively. The risks of stroke events were also overestimated with the UKPDS and one of the Framingham equations. The ability of these equations to rank risk among ADVANCE participants was modest, with c-statistics ranging from 0.57 to 0.71. Results stratified by sex, treatment allocation and ethnicity were broadly similar.

Conclusions/interpretation

Application of the Framingham and UKPDS risk equations to a contemporary treated group of patients with established type 2 diabetes is likely to substantially overestimate cardiovascular risk.     

Postprandial hyperglycaemia and cardiovascular complications of diabetes: an update

Type 2 diabetes is characterised by a gradual decline in insulin secretion in response to nutrient loads; hence, it is primarily a disorder of postprandial glucose (PPG) regulation. However, physicians continue to rely on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels as indicators for disease management. There is a linear relationship between the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the two-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), while a recent study confirms postprandial hyperglycaemia as an independent risk factor for CVD in type 2 diabetes. At the same time, several intervention studies have shown that treating postprandial hyperglycaemia may reduce the incidence of new cardiovascular events. Evidence supports the hypothesis that postprandial hyperglycaemia may be linked to CVD through the generation of oxidative stress. Furthermore, clinical data suggest that postprandial hyperglycaemia is a common phenomenon, even in patients who may be considered in 'good metabolic control'. Therefore, in addition to HbA1c and FPG, physicians should consider monitoring and targeting PPG in patients with type 2 diabetes.     

Diabetic retinopathy is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus

Aims

We aimed to evaluate the association between diabetic microangiopathy and subclinical atherosclerosis as a marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes.

Methods

A total of 142 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics who were free from CVD underwent evaluation of diabetic microangiopathy. Subclinical atherosclerosis was assessed by measuring carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and the 10-year absolute risk of CVD was estimated using the UK Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS) Risk Engine.

Results

Subclinical atherosclerosis was found in 27 subjects (19.0%). The rates of hypertension and diabetic retinopathy were significantly higher among patients with subclinical atherosclerosis. The UKPDS 10-year risk for CVD was significantly increased in subjects with subclinical atherosclerosis. Old age, hypertension and the presence of diabetic retinopathy showed a significant association to subclinical atherosclerosis after further adjustments for gender, body mass index, smoking status, HbA1c, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and the presence of diabetic nephropathy.

Conclusions

This study shows that diabetic retinopathy is an independent risk marker for subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes. We suggest that a diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy may warrant a more careful cardiovascular assessment even in the early stages of diabetes.