All-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality rates in postmenopausal white, black, Hispanic, and Asian women with and without diabetes in the United States: the Women's Health Initiative, 1993-2009.
Available online from MWHC library: 1996 - present, Available in print through MWHC library: 1996 - 2006
Using data from the Women's Health Initiative (1993-2009; n = 158,833 participants, of whom 84.1% were white, 9.2% were black, 4.1% were Hispanic, and 2.6% were Asian), we compared all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality rates in white, black, Hispanic, and Asian postmenopausal women with and without diabetes. Cox proportional hazard models were used for the comparison from which hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were computed. Within each racial/ethnic subgroup, women with diabetes had an approximately 2-3 times higher risk of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality than did those without diabetes. However, the hazard ratios for mortality outcomes were not significantly different between racial/ethnic subgroups. Population attributable risk percentages (PARPs) take into account both the prevalence of diabetes and hazard ratios. For all-cause mortality, whites had the lowest PARP (11.1, 95% confidence interval (CI): 10.1, 12.1), followed by Asians (12.9, 95% CI: 4.7, 20.9), blacks (19.4, 95% CI: 15.0, 23.7), and Hispanics (23.2, 95% CI: 14.8, 31.2). To our knowledge, the present study is the first to show that hazard ratios for mortality outcomes were not significantly different between racial/ethnic subgroups when stratified by diabetes status. Because of the "amplifying" effect of diabetes prevalence, efforts to reduce racial/ethnic disparities in the rate of death from diabetes should focus on prevention of diabetes.
English
0002-9262
*Cardiovascular Diseases/mo [Mortality] *Continental Population Groups/sn [Statistics & Numerical Data] *Diabetes Mellitus/ep [Epidemiology] *Neoplasms/mo [Mortality] *Postmenopause African Americans Aged Asian Americans Body Weights and Measures Cardiovascular Diseases/eh [Ethnology] Diet Estrogen Replacement Therapy/sn [Statistics & Numerical Data] European Continental Ancestry Group Exercise Female Hispanic Americans Humans Middle Aged Neoplasms/eh [Ethnology] Proportional Hazards Models Residence Characteristics/sn [Statistics & Numerical Data] Risk Factors Smoking/ep [Epidemiology] United States/ep [Epidemiology]
MedStar Health Research Institute
Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.