Table 2. Excess Risk of Death Associated with Previously Diagnosed Diabetes at Recruitment.*.
| Age at Recruitment | No. of Participants | Mean Years of Follow-up per Survivor | No. of Deaths during Follow-up (and before 75 Years of Age) | Rate Ratio for Death from Any Cause (95% CI)† | Excess Deaths before 75 Years of Age Associated with Previously Diagnosed Diabetes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| With Diabetes | Without Diabetes | With Diabetes | Without Diabetes | No. of Deaths | % of Total | |||
| 35–44 yr | 2,184 | 50,568 | 11.9 | 232 | 672 | 7.5 (6.5–8.7) | 201 | 22±0.3 |
| 45–54 yr | 5,043 | 35,838 | 11.9 | 671 | 966 | 4.8 (4.4–5.3) | 532 | 32±0.4 |
| 55–64 yr | 5,753 | 21,230 | 11.7 | 1,128 | 1,348 | 3.3 (3.0–3.5) | 781 | 32±0.6 |
| 65–74 yr | 4,431 | 13,179 | 5.3 | 577 | 662 | 2.7 (2.4–3.1) | 366 | 30±1.0 |
| Total | 17,411 | 120,815 | 2,608 | 3,648 | 1,880 | 30‡ | ||
Plus–minus values are means ±SE.
Estimates of age-specific rate ratios for death among participants with diabetes at recruitment versus participants without diabetes at recruitment were adjusted for age, sex, district, educational level, smoking status, height, weight, and waist and hip circumferences. Analyses excluded data from participants with a previous diagnosis of chronic kidney disease or ischemic heart disease, stroke, cirrhosis, cancer, or emphysema.
When the definition of diabetes was expanded to include participants who had undiagnosed diabetes (glycated hemoglobin level ≥6.5%) at recruitment, the percentage of all deaths associated with diabetes increased to 35% (Table S1 in the Supplementary Appendix). The attributable fraction is approximately one third for both deaths from vascular disease and the aggregate of all other deaths. (This value still excludes any deaths due to diabetes with an onset after recruitment among persons with a glycated hemoglobin level <6.5% at recruitment.)