Stroke Risk Starts Early in Diabetes

The risk of stroke among people with type 2 diabetes is already high at the onset of the disease; in fact, it's more than double that of the general population, according to a recently published study.

The finding, published in the journal Stroke, is based on long-term studies in Saskatchewan, Canada. Participants were 12,272 patients with type 2 diabetes who were prescribed their first oral anti-diabetes drug. Researchers followed the participants, among whom slightly more than half were male and the average age was 64, for an average of 5 years.

During the follow-up period, 9.1% of the participants suffered stroke—double the rate seen in the general population. The risk of stroke was inversely correlated with age. The short-term risk of stroke varied from 1.8 times greater than the general population among people >75 years old to 5.6 times greater among people 30–44 years old.

The results underscore the importance of aggressive cardiovascular intervention with type 2 diabetes patients, the researchers contend.