EVALUATION OF CORONARY ARTERY CALCIUM BURDEN AMONG PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES COMPARED TO NON-DIABETIC INDIVIDUALS
Keywords:
Coronary Artery Calcium, Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Coronary Artery Disease, Agatston Score, Atherosclerosis, Cardiovascular RiskAbstract
Background: Coronary artery disease is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality around the globe. Non-invasive computed tomography (CT) with coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring is a well-established tool used to identify early, subclinical atherosclerosis and evaluate cardiovascular risk. Individuals who have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus typically demonstrate an increased likelihood of developing accelerated atherosclerosis because of the long-term effects of insulin resistance, chronic elevation of blood sugar (glucose), dysfunction of the lining of the coronary arteries, and chronic inflammation across all body systems. All these elements contribute to increased levels of calcium within the coronary arteries, which serve as markers for the total amount of atherosclerosis present within those arteries. An effective mechanism of identifying early CAD development in diabetic patients is to assess their CAC scores. By doing so, effective cardiovascular risk stratification may be achieved. Aim: To evaluate and compare the coronary artery calcium burden among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and non-diabetic individuals.
Methods: The purpose of this study is to compare two groups over a years' time (from Jan 2024-Dec 2024) in terms of the amount of coronary artery calcification using non-contrast computed tomography. Participants in this study consisted of 120 volunteers who were divided into two different groups, one having type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and the other group had no diabetes (the non-diabetics). All participants underwent a non-contrast computed tomography (CT) scan of their chest and the results were obtained through an Agatston Score method to identify the amount of coronary artery calcification present in each participant. The amount of coronary artery calcification is compared between the two groups and all other demographic information and clinical parameters recorded during the study will be compared and analysed.
Results: The impact of diabetes (type 2) was investigated using a technique called coronary arteries calcification score. There was demonstrated that patients with type 2 diabetes have substantially (statistically) higher coronary arteries calcification scores than non-deficient individuals. This allows for more patients who are diabetic to have moderate or severe levels of calcification to their coronary arteries, while the majority, or almost all of the people that were found in this study to be non-dialysis, had minimal or no calcification in their coronary arteries. Additionally, there is an association between older age and the longer patients lived with diabetes having higher calcium scores.
Conclusion: There is a considerably higher concentration of coronary arterial calcium resulting in increased subclinical coronary atherosclerosis among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitis compared to their non-diabetic counterparts. Coronary artery calcium scoring can be utilized to identify an individual’s cardiovascular risk and to manage prevention efforts in diabetic patients.
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