Lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease among individuals with and without diabetes stratified by obesity status in the Framingham Heart Study

OBJECTIVE - We assessed the lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among individuals with and without obesity and diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - Participants were drawn from the original and offspring cohorts of the Framingham Heart Study. Lifetime (30-year) risk of CVD was assessed using a modified Kaplan-Meier approach adjusting for the competing risk of death, beginning from age 50 years. RESULTS - Over 30 years, the lifetime risk of CVD among women With diabetes was 54.8% among normal-weight women and 78.8% among obese women. Among normal-weight men with diabetes, the lifetime risk of CVD was 78.6%, whereas it was 86.9% among obese men. CONCLUSIONS - The lifetime risk of CVD among individuals with diabetes is high, and this relationship is further accentuated with increasing adiposity.