To describe sex aspects on extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) and prognosis in a contemporary population with type 1 diabetes.
All patients undergoing coronary angiography, 2001–2013, included in the Swedish Coronary Angiography and Angioplasty Registry and the Swedish National Diabetes Register as type 1 diabetes were followed for mortality until 31 December 2013. The coronary angiogram was classified into normal, one-vessel disease, two-vessel disease, three-vessel disease, and left main stem disease.
In all, 2,776 patients (42% women) with mean age 58 years (SD 11) were followed for 7.2 years (SD 2.2). Diabetes duration was longer in women (37 ± 14 vs. 34 ± 14 years in men; P < 0.001), who also had more retinopathy (68% vs. 65%; P = 0.050), whereas microalbuminuria was less common (41% vs. 51%; P < 0.001). Indications for coronary angiography did not substantially differ in women and men. The extent of CAD was somewhat less severe in women (normal angiogram 23.5% vs. 19.1%, three-vessel and left main stem disease 34.5% vs. 40.4%; P = 0.002), whereas mortality did not differ (adjusted hazard ratio 1.03 [95% CI 0.88–1.20]; P = 0.754). The standard mortality ratio for women the first year was 7.49 (5.73–9.62) and for men was 4.58 (3.60–5.74).
In patients with type 1 diabetes admitted for coronary angiography, the extent of CAD was almost similar in women and men, and total long-term mortality did not differ. Type 1 diabetes was associated with higher mortality risk in women than in men when compared with the general population. These data support that type 1 diabetes attenuates the cardiovascular risk difference seen in men and women in the general population.
