Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have found that high blood sugar levels are associated with a 30-50% increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including in people without diabetes. The research was published in the journal Lancet Regional Health.
Scientists analyzed data from 427,435 people from the British Biobank. The study included people with normal blood sugar levels, people with prediabetes, and people with diabetes.
After adjusting for age, the researchers found that men and women who did not have diabetes but had moderately high blood sugar had a 30-50% increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
In general, the lower the sugar level, the lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. People with diabetes had twice the risk than people without diabetes.
The study also found differences in the use of high blood pressure medications and cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) between men and women, with men taking them more often. This may mean that women are not prescribed these drugs as often as men.
The authors noted that the increased risk of cardiovascular disease can be reduced by maintaining a healthy weight and increasing drug and statin use. They also stressed that the findings cannot be applied to type 1 diabetes, as people with the condition were not included in the analysis.
The researchers classified the participants into the following blood sugar ranges: low normal (
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