Fast heart rate could point to diabetes risk

Researchers from the US and China have found an association between resting heart rate and diabetes that could help identify those with a higher future risk for the disease.

In a study of 73,357 Chinese adults, they found that faster heart rates were associated with an increased risk of developing diabetes, as well as impaired fasting glucose levels.

More precisely, according to study senior author Xiang Gao of Penn State University, "Each additional 10 beats per minute was associated with 23 percent increased risk of diabetes, similar to the effects of a 3 kilogram per meter square increase in body mass index."

They then combined their results with those of seven previous studies and found that those with a fast heart rate had a 59 percent increased risk of diabetes co-mapped to those with a slow heart rate.

The results were published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.