Cardiovascular risk profile and clinical characteristics of diabetic patients: a cross-sectional study in China

Background: Cardiovascular (CV) disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). The aim of this study was to determine the CV risk in Chinese patients with T2D based on the 2019 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) guidelines on diabetes, pre-diabetes, and CV diseases. Methods: A total of 25,411 patients with T2D, who participated in the study of China Cardiometabolic Registries 3B study, were included in our analysis. We assessed the proportions of patients in each CV risk category according to 2019 ESC/EASD guidelines. Results: Based on the 2019 ESC/EASD guidelines, 16,663 (65.6%), 1895 (7.5%), and 152 (0.6%) of patients were included in "very high risk," "high risk," and "moderate risk" categories, respectively. The proportions of patients in each category varied based on age, sex, body mass index, and duration. While 58.7% (9786/16,663) of elderly patients were classified to "very high risk" group, 89.6% (3732/4165) of patients with obesity were divided into "very high risk" group. Almost all patients with a duration of diabetes >10 years had "very high risk" or "high risk." However, 6701 (26.4%) of Chinese T2D patients, who had shorter duration, and one or two risk factors, could not be included in any category (the "unclear risk" category). Conclusions: In China, most patients with T2D have "very high" or "high" CV risk based on 2019 ESC/EASD guidelines. However, the risk of patients in "unclear risk" group needs to be further classified.