Associations of cardiovascular health assessed by life’s essential 8 with diabetic retinopathy and mortality in type 2 diabetes

Vascular complications are the leading causes of reduced life quality and mortality in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Life's Essential 8 (LE8) is a newly modified measurement of cardiovascular health (CVH) by American Heart Association (AHA). Promoting CVH has been previously shown to improve the prognosis of T2DM. However, studies regarding the effects of CVH by LE8 on diabetic retinopathy (DR), a major microvascular complication, and death from the cardiovascular and overall causes in T2DM are currently lacking. This study aimed to investigate these associations thus providing preliminary evidence.