Sex-specific outcomes of diabetic patients with acute myocardial infarction who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention: a register linkage study

BACKGROUND: The presence of diabetes mellitus poses a challenge in the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We aimed to evaluate the sex-specific outcomes of diabetic and non-diabetic patients with AMI who have undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS: Data of the Estonian Myocardial Infarction Registry for years 2006–2009 were linked with the Health Insurance Fund database and the Population Registry. Hazard ratios (HRs) with the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the primary composite outcome (non-fatal AMI, revascularization, or death whichever occurred first) and for the secondary outcome (all cause mortality) were calculated comparing diabetic with non-diabetic patients by sex. RESULTS: In the final study population (n = 1652), 14.6% of the men and 24.0% of the women had diabetes. Overall, the diabetics had higher rates of cardiovascular risk factors, co-morbidities, and 3–4 vessel disease among both men and women (p < 0.01). Among women, the diabetic patients were younger, they presented later and less often with typical symptoms of chest pain than the non-diabetics (p < 0.01). Women with diabetes received aspirin and reperfusion for ST-segment elevation AMI less often than those without diabetes (p < 0.01). During a follow-up of over two years, in multivariate analysis, diabetes was associated with worse outcomes only in women: the adjusted HR for the primary outcome 1.44 (95% CI 1.05 − 1.96) and for the secondary outcome 1.83 (95% CI 1.17 − 2.89). These results were largely driven by a high (12.0%) mortality during hospitalization of diabetic women. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetic women with AMI who have undergone PCI are a high-risk group warranting special attention in treatment strategies, especially during hospitalization. There is a need to improve the expertise to detect AMI earlier, decrease disparities in management, and find targeted PCI strategies with adjunctive antithrombotic regimes in women with diabetes.