Burden of vascular risk factors by age, sex, ethnicity and deprivation in young adults with and without newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes

Jonathan Goldney; Mary M Barker; Jack A Sargeant; Enya Daynes; Dimitris Papamargaritis; Sharmin Shabnam; Louise M Goff; Kamlesh Khunti; Joseph Henson; Melanie J Davies; Francesco Zaccardi

doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2025.112002

Burden of vascular risk factors by age, sex, ethnicity and deprivation in young adults with and without newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes

Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2025 Jan 10:112002. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2025.112002. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester LE5 4PW UK. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Leicester Real World Evidence Unit, Leicester Diabetes Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; Unit of Integrative Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.
³ Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; Leicester Diabetes Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester LE5 4PW UK.
⁴ NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; Department of Respiratory Sciences, University of Leicester, Glenfield Hospital, Leicester LE3 9QP UK.
⁵ Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester LE5 4PW UK.
⁶ Leicester Real World Evidence Unit, Leicester Diabetes Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW UK.
⁷ Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; Leicester Real World Evidence Unit, Leicester Diabetes Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands (ARC-EM), Leicester Diabetes Centre, University of Leicester LE5 4PW UK.
⁸ Diabetes Research Centre, College of Life Sciences, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University of Leicester, Leicester LE5 4PW UK; Leicester Real World Evidence Unit, Leicester Diabetes Centre, University of Leicester, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW UK.

PMID: 39800277
DOI: 10.1016/j.diabres.2025.112002

Abstract

Aims: Do associations between age at diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and vascular risk factors vary by ethnicity and deprivation?

Methods: Utilising the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, we matched 16-50-year-old individuals with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes to ∼10 individuals without using sex, age and primary care practice. Differences in BMI, obesity, LDL-cholesterol, HbA1c, and hypertension between individuals with vs without type 2 diabetes across sex, age, ethnicity and deprivation quintiles were explored using generalised linear models.

Results: We included 108,061 individuals (45.6% women) with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes and 829,946 controls. BMI, obesity, LDL-cholesterol, and hypertension were higher in individuals with vs without type 2 diabetes. Across both sexes, all ethnic groups and deprivation quintiles, these differences were larger with an earlier age, particularly for BMI and obesity. Association between age and HbA1c were variable across subgroups. Differences in BMI, obesity, and hypertension (individuals with vs without diabetes) were largest in White individuals and with less deprivation.

Conclusions: The increased vascular risk phenotype associated with an earlier age of diagnosis of type 2 diabetes was consistent across ethnic and deprivation groups. Population-based strategies are needed to address the risk associated with early-onset type 2 diabetes, especially weight-management-based strategies.

Keywords: Deprivation; Early-onset type 2 diabetes; Ethnicity; Intersectionality; Obesity; Vascular risk.