Newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus is a risk factor for cardiocerebrovascular events in primary aldosteronism

OBJECTIVE: To explore the prevalence and clinical significance of newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus (DM) in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA). Investigating the risk factors for cardiocerebrovascular disease (CCVD) will guide strategies for reducing CCVD in patients with PA. METHODS: We retrospectively included 729 PA patients without DM and conducted oral glucose tolerance tests. RESULTS: We found that 15.0% of PA patients had newly diagnosed DM. The DM prevalence increased with elevated aldosterone levels [OR = 3.20 (1.77, 5.78), P value < 0.001]. The rate of CCVD in newly diagnosed diabetic PA patients was higher than that in nondiabetic PA patients at diagnosis (11.9% vs. 5.0%, P = 0.005). Furthermore, multivariate logistic analysis revealed that HT duration [1.055 (1.002,1.111), P = 0.041] and newly diagnosed DM [2.600 (1.072,6.303), P = 0.034] were significantly associated with CCVD in PA patients. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of newly diagnosed DM in PA patients was higher than that in the general population. Aldosterone level was an independent risk factor for DM not for CCVD. CCVD was correlated with longer HT duration and newly diagnosed DM. Therefore, it is crucial to screen DM at the diagnosis in PA patients.