To Örebro University

Aim: To examine the association of sialic acid (SA) with first recorded diabetes mellitus-related hospitalization.

Methods: From a population-based study in Varmland, Sweden, between 1962 and 1965, 87,035 men and women were selected and followed for first recorded diabetes-related hospitalization until 2005. The association of SA was calculated and stratified for gender by Cox's proportional hazards models. Adjustments were made for conventional risk factors and socioeconomic status. Association analyses were made for comparisons between SA-levels above and below median.

Results: The mean age was 47.2 (SD 13.0) years and the total numbers of incident diabetes-related hospitalizations in men and women were 3445 and 3273, respectively. Hazard ratios per one standard deviation of SA were 1.12 (95% CI: 1.08-1.17, p < 0.0001) in men and 1.17 (95% CI: 1.13-1.22, p < 0.0001) in women. Interaction analyses indicated a relatively higher SA-associated risk in women than in men with above median SA levels.

Conclusions: In this large population-based cohort followed for more than 40 years, elevated SA, as a marker of systemic inflammation, was independently associated with risk of diabetes and diabetes-related hospitalizations. (C) 2014 Primary Care Diabetes Europe. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.