Impact of diabetes duration on heart failure in Korean patients without clinical cardiovascular disease

We aimed to investigate the association between diabetes duration and the subsequent occurrence of heart failure (HF) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients without clinical cardiovascular disease. In this single-center, observational cohort study, a total of 3724 T2DM patients were stratified by diabetes duration into three 5-year interval subgroups. The primary outcomes were the occurrence of new-onset HF and all-cause mortality. HF incidence (P < .001) and mortality (P = .001) were significantly higher in patients with a longer duration of diabetes (≥10 years) than in those with a shorter duration (<5 years). On multivariate analysis, diabetes duration ≥10 years was not independently associated with all-cause mortality compared with duration < 5 years, but there was a nonsignificant increased risk of HF in patients with a diabetes duration ≥10 years (P = .056). Poor glycemic control was associated with an increased risk of HF and mortality; statin use was associated with a significantly decreased risk of mortality. Our study indicated that a longer duration of diabetes is associated with an increased risk of new-onset HF occurrence and all-cause mortality in T2DM patients without clinical cardiovascular disease.