The current prediction tool SCORE2 estimates a 10-year risk of Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) based on general criteria like age, sex, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. While there is a yes/no question about the presence of diabetes in the tool, the exact estimates vary largely between the diabetic and non-diabetic populations. To mitigate these drawbacks, an extension of SCORE2, called SCORE2-Diabetes, was developed to predict CVDs in patients diagnosed with diabetes. 

For the development of this tool, key factors like Hb1Ac, age at diagnosis, and kidney function (eGFR)were considered. Individual data of >229,000 people with T2D from 4 major regions were collected. These were the regions with the highest risk of CVD in Europe. People under 40 years old and with no prior CVD were excluded. The model was then tested using European population-level data to predict how CVD may vary across regions.

According to the results, SCORE2-Diabetes outperformed SCORE2 in predicting CVDs. It could classify people into risk groups more accurately. Reportedly, it also showed better performance compared to ADVANCED (another diabetes-specific tool). The tool identified top risk factors (diabetes-specific) for CVD occurrence, such as HbA1c, kidney function, and younger age at diagnosis. The factors were considered independently and were found to be strong predictors of CVD.