Cardiovascular risk factors, exercise capacity and health literacy in patients with chronic ischaemic heart disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus in Germany: Baseline characteristics of the Lifestyle Intervention in Chronic lschaemic Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes study

Background: Lifestyle interventions are a cornerstone in the treatment of chronic ischaemic heart disease (CI HD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This study aimed at identifying differences in clinical characteristics between categories of the common lifestyle intervention targets BMI, exercise capacity (peak VO2) and health literacy (HL). Methods: Cross-sectional baseline characteristics of patients enrolled in the LelKD trial (Clinicaltrials.gav NCT03835923) are presented in total, grouped by BMI, %-predicted peak VO2 and HL (HLS-EU-Q16), and compared to other clinical trials with similar populations. Results: Among 499 patients (68.3 +/- 7.7 years; 16.2% female; HbAlc, 6.9 +/- 0.9%), baseline characteristics were similar to other trials and revealed insufficient treatment of several risk factors (LDL-C 92 +/- 34 mg/dl; BMI, 30.1 +/- 4.8 kg/m(2); 69.6% with peak VO2 <90% predicted). Patients with lower peak VO2 showed significantly higher (p < 0.05) CIHD and T2DM disease severity (HbAlc, CIHD symptoms, coronary artery bypass graft). Obese patients had a significantly higher prevalence of hypertension and higher triglyceride levels, whereas in patients with low HL both quality of life components (physical, mental) were significantly reduced. Conclusions: In patients with CIHD and T2DM, peak VO2, BMI and HL are important indicators of disease severity, risk factor burden and quality of life, which reinforces the relevance of lifestyle interventions.