Prediabetes Common Among Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

FRIDAY, Dec. 22, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Prediabetes is highly prevalent in adult survivors of childhood cancer and is associated with future cardiovascular and kidney complications, according to a study published online Dec. 13 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Stephanie B. Dixon, M.D., M.P.H., from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and colleagues examined rates of prediabetes and the associated risk for cardiovascular events and chronic kidney disease (CKD) in adult survivors of childhood cancer. The analysis included 3,529 adults at least five years from childhood cancer diagnosis and 448 controls.

The researchers found that among survivors, the prevalence of prediabetes was 29.2 versus 18.1 percent in controls, and the prevalence of diabetes was 6.5 versus 4.7 percent, respectively. Among survivors aged 40 to 49 years, more than half of the survivors had prediabetes (45.5 percent) or diabetes (14.0 percent). Compared with survivors with normal glucose control, those with prediabetes had an increased risk for subsequent myocardial infarction (hazard ratio [HR], 2.4) and CKD (HR, 2.9), while those with diabetes also had a heighted risk for future cardiomyopathy (HR, 3.8) and stroke (HR, 3.4) when adjusting for previous cancer treatment.

"We need to help survivors understand that prediabetes is really an early warning sign that says you need to do something, whether that’s changing lifestyle, starting medication, or following up with primary care," Dixon said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to industry.

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