Resting heart rate and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis of cohort studies
Open accessAbstract
Background High resting heart rate has been associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes in several studies, but the available data are not consistent and it is unclear if there is a dose-response relationship between resting heart rate and type 2 diabetes risk. We aimed to clarify this association by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies.Methods and results PubMed, Embase and Ovid Medline databases were searched for prospective studies published up until October 11th, 2013. Summary relative risks were estimated using a random effects model. Ten cohort studies with >5628 cases and 119,915 participants were included. The summary RR for high vs. low resting heart rate was 1.83 (95% CI: 1.28-2.60, I(2) = 88%, n = 7), and in the dose-response analysis the summary RR was 1.20 (95% CI: 1.07-1.34, I(2) = 93%, n = 9) for an increase of 10 beats per minute. The heterogeneity was to a large degree explained by two studies. There was evidence of nonlinear associations between resting heart rate (pnonlinearity < 0.0001) and risk of type 2 diabetes.Conclusion The current meta-analysis indicates a strong positive association between high resting heart rate and the risk of type 2 diabetes. As a non-invasive marker of type 2 diabetes risk, resting heart rate may have potential in the clinical setting, especially for interventions aimed at lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes. Additional studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms that may be responsible for the assoiation between resting heart rate and type 2 diabetes.
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Some studies have reported associations between higher resting heart rate and increased risk of developing dysglycemia.
“some studies have reported associations between higher RHR and increased risk of developing dysglycemia (22).”
From Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Resting Heart Rate, and Glycemic Variability in Adults With Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young (2026) · cites this paper as [22]
A review of 10 cohort studies, which included almost 120,000 participants, found a dose-response relationship between resting heart rate and incident T2DM, with a 19% increased risk of T2DM for every 10 beats per min increment in resting heart rate.
“A review of 10 cohort studies, which included almost 120,000 participants, found a dose-response relationship between resting heart rate and incident T2DM, with a 19% increased risk of T2DM for every 10 beats per min increment in resting heart rate 49 .”
From Type 2 diabetes mellitus and psychological stress — a modifiable risk factor (2017) · cites this paper as [49]
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- Authors
- Aune, D., ó Hartaigh, B., & Vatten, L. J.
- Affiliations
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
- Corresponding author
- Aune, D.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nutrition Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-06
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 526-534
- ISSN
- 0939-4753 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2063901550
- Cited by
- 73
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 6
- FWCI
- 1.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
- Locations
- Nutrition Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Spiral (Imperial College London) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Physical Activity and Health
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Heart rate and cardiovascular health
- Keywords
- resting heart rate, type 2 diabetes, diabetes risk, dose-response relationship, nonlinear relationship, cardiovascular risk markers
- MeSH terms
- Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Heart Rate, Humans, Predictive Value of Tests, Prognosis, Rest, Risk Factors, Nonlinear Dynamics, Risk Assessment
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