Andreas Edsfeldt
Image source: Lund University; photo: Petra Olsson
The team created genetic risk scores and found that the scores for one subgroup could predict coronary artery disease, even before onset of diabetes.
Diabetes increases the risk of developing coronary artery disease, a common form of cardiovascular disease, often caused by atherosclerosis. Andreas Edsfeldt, who works as cardiologist, meets many patients with coronary artery disease who also turn out to have type 2 diabetes. Myocardial infarction is one example of coronary artery disease.
“Type 2 diabetes is a silent disease which is often detected when the patient is seeking care for complications, such as coronary artery disease. We need to identify individuals with a high risk of developing diabetes and coronary artery disease at a much earlier stage, as this may allow us to improve prevention of complications, such as myocardial infarction. In our new study, we have identified a group that we may be able to help at an earlier stage than we do today,” says Andreas Edsfeldt, associate professor in cardiology at Lund University Diabetes Centre and cardiologist at Skåne University Hospital in Malmö.
The new study, published in Diabetes Care, builds on research at Lund University Diabetes Centre, which has shown that it is possible to divide type 1 diabetes into one subgroup and type 2 diabetes into four subgroups. Previous research on these subgroups has been done on the ANDIS (All New Diabetics in Skåne) study, which aims to register new cases of diabetes diagnosed in southern Sweden. The new study has been conducted on participants within Malmö Diet Cancer (MDC), a population study with a long follow-up time and randomly selected participants from the general population.