D-dimer as a predictor of cardiovascular outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the association between D-dimer and cardiovascular diseases outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: This is a single-center retrospective cohort study which was performed in a population who had health examinations between 2010 and 2015 in Jiangxi Provincial People's Hospital. All adult patients who were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes were screened. The cardiovascular diseases events were defined as all-cause mortality, new cardiovascular diseases incidence (acute myocardial infarction, unstable angina, stroke), or cardiovascular mortality. RESULTS: The median age was 59.6 years; 50.1% of participants were women; D-dimer was significantly associated with endpoint events. After multivariable adjustment for form of treatments and traditional risk factors, the odds ratio was 3.62 (95% CI 2.07–6.03) for the highest quartile of D-dimer with the lowest quartile as reference. Meanwhile, higher D-dimer levels were associated with a significant and independent higher risk of cause-specific cardiovascular disease events. CONCLUSION: High plasma concentrations of D-dimer were associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases events in patients with type 2 diabetes, even after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors and form of treatments. Measurement of D-dimer may lead to a practical improvement in the current risk stratification criteria for patients with type 2 diabetes.