The many benefits of flu vaccination for people with diabetes

Given that influenza infection is associated with an increased risk of atherothrombotic events, including myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke, researchers were motivated to explore the nature of the relationship between influenza vaccination and cardiovascular outcomes for people with diabetes. Using a national data registry to identify patients with diabetes in Denmark over nine consecutive influenza seasons  (the diagnosis of diabetes was based on the use of glucose-lowering medication). Patients with established diagnoses of ischemic heart disease, heart failure, chronic obstructive lung disease, cancer, or cerebrovascular disease were excluded. Exposure to influenza vaccination was assessed before each influenza season and the outcomes – death from all causes, death from cardiovascular causes, and death from AMI or stroke were followed for each season, patients were monitored from early winter until early spring the following next year. 241,551 patients were monitored for a median of four seasons (interquartile range two–eight seasons) for a total follow-up of 425,318 person-years. The vaccine coverage during study seasons ranged from 24 to 36%. During follow-up, 8,207 patients died of all causes (3.4%), 4,127 patients died of cardiovascular causes (1.7%), and 1,439 patients died of AMI/stroke (0.6%). After adjustment for confounding factors, vaccination was significantly associated with reduced risks of all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR] 0.83, P < 0.001), cardiovascular death (HR 0.84, P < 0.001), death from AMI or stroke (HR 0.85, P = 0.028), and a reduced risk of being admitted to hospital with acute complications associated with diabetes (diabetic ketoacidosis, hypoglycemia, or coma) (HR 0.89, P = 0.006). More details of the research can be viewed here