Young adults with prediabetes are nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized for MI compared with young adults without impaired glucose tolerance, suggesting more screening and awareness is needed, researchers reported.

Akhil Jain

“After performing statistical tests and taking into account various influencing and modifying factors, we found that young patients with prediabetes had 1.7 times higher chances of having an MI compared with those without prediabetes,” Akhil Jain, MD, a resident physician at Mercy Catholic Medical Center in Darby, Pennsylvania, told Healio. “Despite having higher chances of MI, prediabetes was not associated with a higher incidence of other major adverse CV events but did require a higher proportion of patients being transferred to short-term facilities.”

Jain and colleagues analyzed MI-related hospitalizations among young adults aged 18 to 44 years with and without prediabetes, using the 2018 National Inpatient Sample. Adults with overt diabetes were excluded. Researchers assessed comorbidities and outcomes, including major CV and cerebrovascular adverse events, based on prediabetes status.

The findings were presented at the American Heart Association Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions.

The overall prevalence of prediabetes among young adults hospitalized in 2018 was 0.4%. MI-related hospitalizations were significantly higher among patients with prediabetes compared with those without prediabetes (2.15% vs. 0.3%). Patients with prediabetes with an MI-related hospitalization were more often men (78.5% vs. 72.8%), Black (26.7% vs. 21%), Hispanic (18.3% vs. 11.5%) Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9% vs. 3.1%) or from a higher-income quartile (19.1% vs. 15.8%). Additionally, patients with prediabetes were more likely to be hospitalized in urban-teaching hospitals (81.5% vs. 72.2%), from Midwest region hospitals (23.7% vs. 21.9%) and West region hospitals (23% vs. 16.4%) compared with those without prediabetes and were more likely to have hyperlipidemia (68.1% vs. 47.3%), obesity (48.9% vs. 25.7%) and a fluid-electrolyte imbalance (18.5% vs. 15.3%).

After adjustment, patients with prediabetes were 71% more likely to be hospitalized for MI compared with adults without prediabetes (OR = 1.71; 9% CI, 1.38-2.12; P < .001).

However, those with prediabetes and an MI-related hospitalization were no more likely to experience other major adverse CV or cerebrovascular events compared with adults without prediabetes (P = .074).

“MI is a major life event that badly affects the physical and mental health of the patient,” Jain told Healio. “Higher chances of MI among young adults with prediabetes suggests a need for promoting a healthy lifestyle in such persons.”

Jain noted there are a paucity of large-scale epidemiological data on MI among young adults, especially with prediabetes.

“Our study should be considered as an early study to build future research based on our suggested findings to clearly establish the burden of heart disease in the young population with prediabetes,” Jain told Healio. “It is essential to raise awareness in young adults to follow routine health checkups to screen for prediabetes in a timely manner and prevent the development of diabetes and associated CV events.”