Fasting plasma glucose variability and HbA1c are associated with peripheral artery disease risk in type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: This study investigated whether visit-to-visit fasting plasma glucose (FPG) variability, as measured by the coefficient of variation (CV), increased peripheral artery disease (PAD) risk. METHODS: Individuals with type 2 diabetes from the National Diabetes Care Management Program during the period 2002–2004, ≥ 30 years of age, and free of PAD (n = 30,932) were included and monitored until 2011. Cox proportional hazards regression models were implemented to analyze related determinants of PAD. RESULTS: A total of 894 incident cases of PAD were identified during an average 8.2 years of follow-up, resulting in a crude incidence rate of 3.53 per 1000 person-years. Both FPG-CV and HbA1c were significantly associated with PAD after multivariate adjustment, with corresponding hazard ratios of 1.24 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04–1.47] for FPG-CV in the third tertile and 1.50 (95% CI 1.10–2.04) for HbA1c ≥ 10%. The findings of the sensitivity analysis remained consistent after excluding potential confounders, demonstrating the consistency of the results. CONCLUSIONS: The associations between HbA1c, variability in FPG-CV, and PAD suggest a linked pathophysiological mechanism, suggesting the crucial role of glycemic variability in clinical management and therapeutic goals in preventing PAD in type 2 diabetes.