Abstract

AIM: In statin-treated persons with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) the further ASCVD risk that diabetes mellitus (DM) adds is not well-quantified. We examined this residual risk for initial and total recurrent ASCVD events. METHODS: We studied 3271 patients with ASCVD on statin therapy in the AIM-HIGH clinical trial cohort. Cox regression and the Prentice, Williams, and Peterson model examined the excess risk of initial and total recurrent ASCVD events associated with DM over a 3- year mean follow-up. Predictors of first and total ASCVD events in those with and without DM were also examined. RESULTS: Of our cohort with ASCVD on statin therapy 40% also had DM. Those with vs. without DM were older, were less likely to be male or white. They had higher systolic blood pressure, lower HDL-C, LDL-C, lipoprotein (a), but higher triglycerides and BMI (all p < 0.01). Adjusted HRs were 1.21 (95% CI; 1.01-1.46, p = 0.038) and 1.23 (95% CI: 1.05-1.44, p = 0.012) for first and total recurrent ASCVD events, respectively. Homocysteine and lipoprotein(a) most strongly predicted events in those with and without DM, respectively. CONCLUSION: In statin-treated patients with ASCVD, DM was associated with significantly greater residual risk over ASCVD alone for both first and total recurrent ASCVD events.