PREVALENCE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF DIABETES IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION
Data from the World Health Organization show that there is an increase in the morbidity and mortality caused by ischemic coronary disease. Diabetes has been confirmed as an independent risk factor in the development of coronary disease. The aim of this study was to determine the effect and role of diabetes mellitus in patients suffering from acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The study included 506 patients treated for AMI at Department of Medicine, Cantonal Hospital in Zenica during 1991, 1993 and 1996. In total, there were 94 diabetic patients with AMI: 36 in 1991; 31 in 1993; and 27 in 1996. In the same years, 412 nondiabetic patients were treated for AMI: 127 in 1991; 143 in 1993; and 142 in 1996. The percentage of patients with AMI was significantly higher in the group of diabetics than in nondiabetics (p<0.01). The percentage of women with AMI was significantly higher among diabetics than among nondiabetics in all three study years (1991 and 1993, p<0.01; 1996, p<0.05). Among nondiabetics, the percentage of AMI was significantly higher in men as compared with women in all three study years (p<0.001). The percentage of diabetics with AMI did not change significantly among the three study years.