Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39972466›Full record

ArticleCardiovascular diabetology2025

Phenotype-based clusters, inflammation and cardiometabolic complications in older people before the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes: KORA F4/FF4 cohort study.

Marie-Theres Huemer, Maria C Spagnuolo, Haifa Maalmi, Robert Wagner, Gidon J Bönhof, Margit Heier, Wolfgang Koenig, Wolfgang Rathmann, Katsiaryna Prystupa, Jana Nano and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Cardiovascular diabetology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
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  7. Prediabetes.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Marie-Theres Huemer *Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4329-8607
Maria C Spagnuolo *Institute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine Universität, Auf'm Hennekamp 65, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID 0009-0003-3228-8766
Haifa MaalmiInstitute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine Universität, Auf'm Hennekamp 65, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2910-1142
Robert WagnerInstitute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine Universität, Auf'm Hennekamp 65, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-6120-0191
Gidon J BönhofInstitute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine Universität, Auf'm Hennekamp 65, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-1446-6592
Margit HeierInstitute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7317-7566
Wolfgang KoenigSchool of Medicine and Health, German Heart Centre, TUM University Hospital, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2064-9603
Wolfgang RathmannGerman Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Partner Düsseldorf, Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-7804-1740
Katsiaryna PrystupaInstitute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine Universität, Auf'm Hennekamp 65, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-3368-1028
Jana NanoInstitute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4731-5491
Dan ZieglerInstitute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine Universität, Auf'm Hennekamp 65, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8956-3552
Annette PetersInstitute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-6645-0985
Michael RodenInstitute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine Universität, Auf'm Hennekamp 65, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8200-6382
Barbara Thorand *Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH), Neuherberg, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-8416-6440
Christian Herder *Institute for Clinical Diabetology, German Diabetes Center (DDZ), Leibniz Center for Diabetes Research at Heinrich Heine Universität, Auf'm Hennekamp 65, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany. christian.herder@ddz.de.ORCID 0000-0002-2050-093X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundUsing a data-driven approach, six clusters with different risk profiles and burden of complications were recently identified in middle-aged people before the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). We aimed to investigate whether these clusters could be generalised to older people and if subclinical inflammation was related to their cardiometabolic risk profiles.

methodsWe assigned 843 participants of the KORA F4 study aged 61-82 years without T2D to the six previously defined phenotype-based clusters. Based on 73 biomarkers of subclinical inflammation, we derived an inflammation-related score ("inflammatory load") using principal component analysis to assess subclinical inflammation. Risk factors, inflammatory load as well as prevalence and incidence of (pre)diabetes-related complications were compared between the clusters using pairwise comparisons and regression analyses.

resultsClusters 1 and 2 had the lowest cardiometabolic risk, whereas clusters 5 and 6 the highest. T2D risk was highest in clusters 3, 4, 5, and 6 compared with the low-risk cluster 2 (age- and sex-adjusted ORs between 3.6 and 34.0). In cross-sectional analyses, there were significant between-cluster differences in chronic kidney disease (CKD), distal sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN) and cardiovascular disease (all p < 0.045). In prospective analyses (mean follow-up time 6.5-8.3 years), clusters differed significantly in CKD and DSPN incidence, but not in incident CVD or all-cause mortality. The inflammatory load was highest in the high-risk cluster 5 and lowest in cluster 2. Adjustment for the inflammatory load had only a minor impact on the aforementioned differences in outcomes between clusters.

conclusionsOur findings extend the knowledge about the previously identified six phenotype-based clusters in older people without T2D. Differences between clusters were more pronounced for T2D risk than for prevalent or incident (pre)diabetes-related complications and absent for mortality. The high cardiometabolic risk corresponded to the high inflammatory load in cluster 5 but not to the lower inflammatory load of high-risk clusters 3 and 6.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2InflammationInflammation MediatorsPrediabetic StateAgedAged, 80 and overAge FactorsBiomarkersCardiometabolic Risk FactorsCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleGermanyHumansIncidenceMaleBiomarkersInflammation MediatorsCardiovascular diseaseChronic kidney diseaseCohortDiabetesHeterogeneityInflammationMortalityPolyneuropathyPrediabetesSubtypes

Identifiers

PMID39972466
PMCPMC11841139

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.