Duration of Diabetes and Incident Heart Failure: The ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities) Study

This study assessed the association of diabetes duration with incident heart failure (HF). Diabetes increases HF risk. However, the independent effect of diabetes duration on incident HF is unknown. We included 9,734 participants (mean age 63 years, 58% women, 22% Black) at ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities) Visit 4 (1996-1998) without HF or coronary heart disease. We calculated diabetes duration at Visit 4 (baseline), utilizing diabetes status at the first 4 ARIC visits spaced 3 years apart, and self-reported diagnosis date for those with diabetes diagnosed before Visit 1. We used Cox regression to estimate associations of diabetes duration with incident HF, accounting for intercurrent coronary heart disease and other risk factors. We performed analyses stratified by age (