Approved Research

Understanding the prevalence of cardiovascular co-morbidities in common endocrine disorders

Lay summary

Aim1: To understand the prevalence of cardiovascular comorbidities in common endocrine disorders in the UKBIOBANK data

Cardiovascular co-morbidities are common with endocrine disorders and it is the leading cause of death. Globally, around 18 million people died every year from cardiovascular related illness, representing about 32% of all global deaths. Here in the UK alone around 7.4 million people living with heart disease and circulatory disorders, which account for nearly a third of all deaths in the UK. Healthcare costs associated with heart and circulatory disorders are estimated at around 9 billion pounds annually. We do not have estimate of the prevalence of cardiovascular disorders in patients with common endocrine disorders. There is limited data in the literature giving the prevalence CVD in relatively  common endocrine disorders such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, Hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism, Hypopituitarism, Hyperparathyroidism, Cushing's Syndrome, Addison disease, Prolactinoma, Hypogonadism.

The Biobank provides an excellent resource to answer this question. We will estimate the prevalence of myocardial infraction, angina, stroke peripheral vascular disease, end-stage renal disease in patients with these common endocrine disorders. The proposed research aims to reduce the scientific uncertainty and improve the evidence base to guide UK public health policy for screening and treatment of Cardiovascular comorbidities in patients with common endocrine disorders.

The research will include the full UK Biobank cohort for all participants.

We will use ICD 10 codes, codes for hospitalization to identify patients with both common endocrine conditions and the CVD and assess the prevalence of the CVD's in these endocrine conditions.

This research will run for several years.

The results from this study will be, however, useful in guiding the design of further functional studies in endocrine disorders. It is also expected that our work will advance our understanding and will have implications for screening procedures, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular co-morbidities especially in patients with endocrine disorders.