Background Pathologic angiogenesis is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) microvascular complications and may modulate adipogenesis and precede the onset of clinical diabetes mellitus; however, longitudinal data are unavailable. Placental growth factor is a potent proangiogenic factor that stimulates the formation of mature and durable vessels but is understudied in human diseases. Methods and Results We conducted a prospective case-cohort study of baseline placental growth factor and incident T2DM within the WHS (Women's Health Study). A random sample of incident T2DM cases (n=491) occurring over a 15-year follow-up period was selected and compared with a reference subcohort (n=561). Case subjects were matched to the reference risk set on 5-year age groups and race. All subjects in this analysis were required to have a hemoglobin A1c <6.5% at WHS enrollment. Median baseline levels of placental growth factor were higher in case subjects compare to the reference subcohort (18.0 pg/mL versus 17.2 pg/mL) but were only weakly correlated with glycemic measures and not associated with obesity. The risk of diabetes mellitus increased across placental growth factor quartile in the base model (hazard ratios, 1.00, 1.14, 1.46, and 2.14; P-trend<0.001) and in multivariable-adjusted models accounting for clinical T2DM risk factors (hazard ratios, 1.00, 1.17, 1.45, and 2.61; P-trend<0.001). These findings were not substantially altered by further adjustment for high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, hemoglobin A1c, or fasting insulin and remained robust in sensitivity analyses excluding those diagnosed within 2 years of enrollment and those with baseline hemoglobin A1c ≥6.0%. Conclusions Elevated placental growth factor levels are associated with future T2DM independent of traditional risk factors, measures of glycemia, insulin resistance, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. These prospective data suggest that pathologic angiogenesis may occur well before the clinical onset of T2DM and thus may have relevance to vascular complications of this disease. Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00000479.
Keywords: angiogenesis; diabetes mellitus; placenta growth factor; vascular disease; vascular growth factor.