Increased Mortality Burden in Young Asian Subjects with Dysglycemia and Comorbidities

High blood glucose level has a linear relationship with all-cause mortality. However, the influence of glycemic abnormality on mortality differs by age group. We aimed to analyze all-cause mortality according to glycemic status, age groups, and comorbidities using a national health database.

The 6,330,369 participants who underwent Korean National Health Screening in 2009 were followed up until 2016, with a median follow-up of 7.3 years. All-cause mortality rates were analyzed according to glycemic status (normoglycemia, impaired fasting glucose [IFG], newly diagnosed diabetes, diabetes duration <5 years, diabetes duration ≥5 years), age groups (20-39, 40-65, and ≥65 years), and comorbidities using the Korean National Health Insurance System database.

At baseline, 712,901 (11.3%) subjects had diabetes. Compared with subjects without diabetes, those with diabetes at baseline showed increased mortality risk after adjustment for multiple risk factors (hazard ratio [HR] 1.613; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.598,1.629), and those with IFG showed a significantly increased mortality risk compared with normoglycemic subjects (HR 1.053; 95% CI 1.042,1.064). Mortality risk associated with glycemic status decreased gradually from younger to older age groups and was consistently higher in those with diabetes with coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke or decreased renal function than those without comorbidities.

Compared with normoglycemic subjects, subjects with diabetes and IFG had an increased mortality risk and the mortality risk was higher in the younger age group than in the older age group. The presence of diabetes and comorbid diseases synergistically increased mortality risk.