Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of older adults with diabetes according to comorbidity burden: the ARIC Study, visit 5 (2011–2013), N = 1,853
| Low comorbidity burden(<3 comorbidities) | High comorbidity burden(≥3 comorbidities) | |
|---|---|---|
| n | 723 | 1,130 |
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 73.8 (4.4) | 76.6 (5.2) |
| Male, % | 45.0 | 41.5 |
| Black race, % | 31.8 | 29.8 |
| Current smoker, % | 5.7 | 5.8 |
| BMI* (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 30.1 (5.4) | 31.2 (6.2) |
| Blood pressure (mmHg), mean (SD) | ||
| Systolic | 129.3 (16.9) | 131.0 (20.0) |
| Diastolic | 66.1 (9.7) | 64.2 (11.4) |
| Hypertension medication use, % | 67.9 | 90.2 |
| Total cholesterol (mmol/L), mean (SD) | 4.4 (1.0) | 4.3 (1.1) |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L), mean (SD) | 1.3 (0.3) | 1.2 (0.3) |
| Cholesterol-lowering medication use, % | 63.2 | 74.4 |
| American Diabetes Association comorbidities, % | ||
| Coronary heart disease | 3.7 | 29.7 |
| Heart failure | 2.9 | 36.2 |
| Stroke | 1.5 | 7.7 |
| Arthritis | 48.7 | 86.4 |
| Cancer | 9.3 | 32.7 |
| Chronic kidney disease, stage 3+ | 14.4 | 65.0 |
| Depression | 0.4 | 5.0 |
| Emphysema or COPD | 1.8 | 11.3 |
| History of hospitalized fall | 0.6 | 5.7 |
| History of severe hypoglycemia | 0.4 | 4.7 |
| Hypertension | 72.3 | 93.4 |
| Incontinence | 1.7 | 19.6 |
| Geriatric syndromes, % | ||
| Dementia | 2.9 | 6.4 |
| Frailty | 4.8 | 13.9 |
| hs-cTnI (ng/L), median (Q1, Q3) | 2.8 (1.9, 4.5) | 4.3 (2.8, 7.7) |
| hs-cTnT (ng/L), median (Q1, Q3) | 10.0 (7.0, 14.0) | 14.0 (9.0, 22.0) |
| Hemoglobin A1c (%), mean (SD) | 6.5 (1.0) | 6.7 (1.1) |
| Diabetes medication use, % | ||
| No medication | 45.8 | 39.1 |
| Oral only | 43.2 | 43.1 |
| Insulin only | 4.7 | 8.8 |
| Insulin and oral | 6.4 | 9.0 |
COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Q, quartile.
*
n = 20 missing values for BMI (4 with low comorbidity burden, 16 with high comorbidity burden).