Mortality from cardiovascular diseases among diabetics.

A retrospective analysis of a cohort of 5210 diabetic patients revealed a mortality rate 1.3 times higher than in the general population of Warsaw. The higher death rate in the cohort under study was mainly due to an excess mortality from coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease. The excess mortality was greater in men than in women. Th risk of death from cardiovascular diseases was higher among the patients with early onset diabetes. Mortality from cerebrovascular disease was highest in patients treated with insulin, intermediate in the group treated with oral drugs, and lowest in the group treated only with diet. The mortality ratio from coronary heart disease in men was not related to the method of hypoglycaemic therapy given at the onset or during the course of the diabetes. In women, the highest mortality was in the group treated with insulin, intermediate in the group treated with oral agents, and lowest in the group treated with diet only.