Coronary heart disease is a major global health problem, especially for people with type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the German Diabetes Research Center (DZD), Helmholtz München and Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU) have identified a novel protein biomarker associated with the development of CHD in patients with and without diabetes. The results were announced below. Cardiovascular Diabetology.CHD is one of the most common causes of death worldwide, particularly in Europe, where it accounts for almost half of all deaths. Among middle-aged adults, those with type 2 diabetes (T2D) are 2 to 4 times more likely to develop CHD than those without T2D. The research team investigated the predictive performance of protein biomarkers for the development of CHD in patients with and without T2D.

In the study, researchers used data from the Augsburg Region Collaborative Health Research (KORA). The validation cohort included 888 participants in the KORA-Age1 study, who developed 70 cases of CHD during 6.9 years of follow-up (19 vs. 51 in the T2D and no T2D groups, respectively) . They tested the participants’ blood samples for 233 plasma proteins associated with cardiovascular disease and inflammation.

The researchers thus identified two proteins associated with the development of CHD in patients with diabetes and 29 proteins in patients without baseline T2D. Six of these proteins are novel candidates for CHD development.

The results of this study significantly contribute to a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of CHD in T2D patients and provide potential new approaches to the prevention and treatment of this serious complication. They highlight the importance of further research in this field and the role of the German Diabetes Research Center in solving pressing problems related to diabetes and its complications.