The article entitled ‘Factors influencing accelerated ageing in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease’ explores the factors influencing accelerated ageing in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and coronary heart disease (CHD).
Type 2 diabetes, as a metabolic disease, is increasingly prevalent throughout the world, representing a major public health challenge. At the same time, the combination of T2DM and CHD is also on the rise, with severe impacts on patients' health. The ageing associated with these diseases further complicates disease management and increases the risk of complications. Biological ageing acceleration, or PhenoAgeAccel, is an important measure for assessing the state of health of diabetic patients. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical indicators and biomarkers predictive of accelerated ageing in patients with T2DM and CHD.
The study included 216 patients diagnosed with T2DM and CHD between August 2019 and August 2023. Patients were divided into an accelerated ageing group and a non-accelerated ageing group based on the PhenoAgeAccel measure. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors influencing ageing in these patients.
Clinical data was collected retrospectively, including demographic characteristics, information on hospitalisations, medical costs, secondary diagnoses, surgeries, and comorbidities such as hypertension and renal failure. Laboratory test values were also analysed, covering a wide range of indicators such as mean corpuscular volume (MCV), albumin (ALB), glucose (GLU), creatinine (CREA), and many others.
Of the 216 patients studied, 89 were classified in the accelerated ageing group. The results showed that patients in this group were generally older, with a higher prevalence of hypertension, stable angina, and unstable angina compared with the non-accelerated ageing group.
Multivariate analyses identified several significant risk factors for accelerated ageing, including neutrophil count (NEUT), the amount of UREA and adenosine deaminase (ADA).
In contrast, cholinesterase (HEC) was identified as a protective factor, with each increase of one unit reducing the risk of ageing by 1%. HEC plays a crucial role in regulating nerve transmission and cardiac function, and a reduction in its activity could be linked to chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.
The results suggested that NEUT, UREA, ADA, and TyG index are potential indicators of accelerated ageing in patients with T2DM and CHD, while HEC appears to have a protective effect. These biomarkers could offer simple, cost-effective ways of predicting the biological ageing status of patients, helping to guide prevention and treatment strategies.
This study highlights several clinical biomarkers linked to accelerated ageing in patients with T2DM and CHD. NEUT, UREA, ADA and the TyG index appear to be risk factors, while HEC may have a protective role. These findings could help to improve the clinical management of ageing in this vulnerable population, although further research is needed to confirm these associations and explore the underlying mechanisms.
