Allopurinol Reduces Cardiovascular Outcomes in Diabetes Save

A Canadian study has shown that elderly diabetics who take allopurinol have a significant reduction in cardiovascular outcomes.  

Hyperuricemia has been shown to be a biomarker for cardiovascular outcomes in multiple disorders. These investigators studied the effect of allopurinol and mortality on CV outcomes in a population-based retrospective cohort study from Ontario, Canada.

The primary CV outcome was a composite that included: all-cause mortality, non-fatal cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction, revascularization procedure, or stroke) or congestive heart failure (CHF). 

After a follow-up of 4.65 years, the primary CV outcome was seen in 16,266/23,103 males and 10,571/15,313 females.

Allopurinol use was associated with a significant reduction in the primary outcome by nearly 20% [adjusted hazard ratios 0.77 (95% confidence interval 0.75-0.80) and 0.81 (0.78-0.84) for male and females, respectively]. The cumulative allopurinol dose did not alter these outcomes.

Allopurinol was also associated with reduced risk of pneumonia in males [aHR 0.88 (0.83, 0.93)].

Allopurinol also decreases mortality and cardiovascular outcomes in older diabetics.