Anaemia, independent of chronic kidney disease, predicts all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in type 2 diabetic patients

Abstract Objective There is limited and controversial information on whether anaemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular mortality in type 2 diabetes, and whether this risk is modified by the presence of chronic kidney disease (CKD). We assessed the predictive role of lower hemoglobin concentrations on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a cohort of type 2 diabetic individuals. Methods The cohort included 1153 type 2 diabetic outpatients, who were followed for a mean period of 4.9 years. The independent association of anaemia (i.e., hemoglobin Results During follow-up, 166 (14.4%) patients died, 42.2% ( n  = 70) of them from cardiovascular causes. In univariate analysis, anaemia was associated with increased risk of all-cause (hazard ratio HR 2.62, 95% confidence intervals 1.90–3.60, p p p  = 0.002) and cardiovascular mortality (adjusted HR 2.23, 1.12–4.39, p  = 0.020) remained statistically significant. Conclusions Anaemia is associated with increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in type 2 diabetic individuals, independently of the presence of CKD and other potential confounders. The advantage to treat anaemia in type 2 diabetes for reducing the risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes remains to be demonstrated.