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Updated: May 19, 2026

A Point-of-Care Method with Integrated Decision Support Tool to Estimate Anemia at Population Level
05:35

A Point-of-Care Method with Integrated Decision Support Tool to Estimate Anemia at Population Level

Published on: January 19, 2024

Anaemia, haemoglobin level and cause-specific mortality in people with and without diabetes

Andre Pascal Kengne1, Sébastien Czernichow, Mark Hamer

  • 1National Collaborative Research Programme on Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease, South African Medical Research Council and University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. andre.kengne@mrc.ac.za

Plos One
|August 10, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Anaemia and cardiovascular disease (CVD) significantly increase mortality risk in people with diabetes. Combining these conditions drastically elevates this risk, highlighting the need for screening to identify vulnerable diabetic patients.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Diabetology
  • Hematology

Background:

  • Diabetes, anaemia, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) are prevalent in diabetic populations.
  • While individually associated with increased mortality, their combined impact on mortality risk remains under-quantified.
  • This study investigates the synergistic effects of these conditions on mortality in individuals with diabetes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the combined impact of anaemia and existing cardiovascular disease (CVD) on all-cause and CVD mortality in people with diabetes.
  • To compare these risks with those observed in individuals without diabetes.
  • To identify high-risk subgroups within the diabetic population for targeted interventions.

Main Methods:

  • Pooled analysis of 7 UK population-based cohorts, including 26,480 participants.
  • Defined anaemia based on haemoglobin levels (<13 g/dl for men, <12 g/dl for women).
  • Assessed existing CVD (stroke, ischaemic heart disease) and physician-diagnosed diabetes.
  • Used adjusted hazard ratios (HR) to estimate mortality risks, comparing various subgroups to a referent group of diabetes-free, non-anaemic individuals.

Main Results:

  • Anaemia and diabetes independently increased all-cause mortality risk (HR 1.46 and 1.67, respectively).
  • The combination of diabetes and anaemia showed a significantly higher risk (HR 2.10).
  • Existing CVD also elevated mortality risk (HR 1.60), with the combination of diabetes and CVD yielding a higher HR (2.68).
  • The simultaneous presence of diabetes, anaemia, and CVD resulted in the highest all-cause mortality risk (HR 3.25).
  • Similar patterns were observed for CVD-specific mortality.

Conclusions:

  • Anaemia and CVD confer substantial and similar mortality risks in diabetic individuals.
  • The combination of anaemia and CVD in diabetes leads to excessively high mortality rates.
  • Screening for anaemia in diabetic patients can identify those at high risk, potentially improving outcomes through timely intervention.
Abstract

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