Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Hertzel C. Gerstein

M.D., MSc, FRCPC

Professor, Department of Medicine, Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Associate Member, Department of Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics

Director, Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism

Population Health Institute Chair in Diabetes Research

Head, Service of Endocrinology and Metabolism

Director, Diabetes Care and Research Program, Hamilton Health Sciences

Education and Professional Standing

Dr. Hertzel C. Gerstein is a Professor in both the Department of Medicine and the Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and holds the Population Health Institute Chair in Diabetes Research at McMaster University. He is Director of the Division of Endocrinology & Metabolism at McMaster University, and both Head of the Service of Endocrinology and Metabolism and Director of the Diabetes Care and Research Program at Hamilton Health Sciences.

In 1999, Dr. Gerstein was awarded the Canadian Diabetes Association Young Scientist Award, and the Canadian Diabetes Association's Frederick G. Banting award

Academic (or Research or Clinical) Interests

Dr. Gerstein's academic interests include:

  • Using population health approaches to reduce the burden of diabetes in society and to prevent new diabetes
  • Measuring the burden of diabetes in Canada
  • Using epidemiologic approaches to study the relationship between dysglycemia, diabetes and cardiovascular disease
  • The emerging role of albuminuria as an important risk factor for both kidney and heart disease in the population
  • Clinical trials in diabetes prevention and therapy.

Dr. Gerstein's research is funded by the US National Institutes of Health, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Health Canada, and the Canadian Diabetes Association.

He is currently principal investigator (PI) of the ACCORD study of cardiovascular prevention in type 2 diabetes, joint PI of the DREAM study of diabetes prevention in high risk individuals, joint PI of the ORIGIN study of CV prevention in people with dysglycemia, and director of Diabetes Hamilton.

Selected Publications

Dr. Gerstein is co-editor of the textbook Evidence-Based Diabetes Care, is an Associate Editor for ACP Journal Club, and Evidence-Based Medicine, is on the Editorial Board of the Canadian Journal of Diabetes, and chairs the evidence-based subcommittee for the CDA Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Diabetes in Canada.

Dr. Gerstein is also on the steering committee of the Canadian National Diabetes Surveillance System.Dr. Gerstein has published over 100 papers, book chapters and editorials, mainly on diabetes-related issues.

Selected Peer Reviewed Articles

  1. Gerstein HC, Rosenstock J. Insulin Therapy in People with dysglycemia and Type 2 diabetes: Can it offer both cardiovascular protection and beta cell preservation? Endocrinol Metab Clin N Am 2004 (In Press).
  2. Gerstein HC, Yusuf S, Holman R, Bosch J, Pogue J. The DREAM Trial Investigators. Rationale, design and recruitment characteristics for a large simple international trial of diabetes prevention: The DREAM Trial (Diabetes Reduction Assessment with Ramipril and Rosiglitazone Medications). Diabetologia 2004;47(9):1519-1527.
  3. Canadian Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Guidelines Expert Committee. Canadian Diabetes Association 2003 Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Diabetes in Canada. Can J Diabetes. 2003;27(suppl 2):S1-S152.
  4. Gerstein HC, Anand S, Yi Q, Vuksan V, Lonn EM, Teo K, Malmberg K, McQueen M, Yusuf S. The relationship between dysglycemia and atherosclerosis in South Asian, Chinese and European individuals in Canada: A randomly sampled cross-sectional study. Diabetes Care 2003; 26: 144-149.
  5. Gerstein HC. Epidemiologic analyses of risk factors, risk indicators, risk markers, and causal factors. The example of albuminuria and the risk of cardiovascular. Endocrinol Metab Clin N Am 2002 (3): 537-551.
  6. Dawson KG, Gomes D, Gerstein H, Blanchard JF, Kahler KH. The economic cost of diabetes in Canada, 1998. Diabetes Care 2002; 25:1303-1307.
  7. Gerstein HC, Capes SE. Dysglycemia: A key cardiovascular risk factor. Semin Vasc Med 2002;2:165-174.
  8. Yusuf S, Gerstein H, Hoogwerf B,Pogue J, Bosch J, Wolfenbuttel BHR, Zinman B, HOPE Study Investigators. Ramipril and the development of diabetes. JAMA 2001; 286:1881-1885.
  9. Gerstein HC, Mann JFE, Pogue J, Dinneen SF, Hallé J-P, Hoogwerf B, Joyce C, Nawaz S, Rashkow A, Young J, Zinman B,Yusuf S, on behalf of the HOPE Study Investigators. The albumin/creatinine ratio is a continuous risk factor for future cardiovascular events in diabetic and non-diabetic individuals. JAMA 2001;286:421-426.
  10. Gerstein HC, Mann JFE, Pogue J, Dinneen SF, Hallé J-P, Hoogwerf B, Joyce C, Rashkow A, Young J, Zinman B,Yusuf S, on behalf of the HOPE Study Investigators. The prevalence and determinants of microalbuminuria in high risk diabetic and nondiabetic patients in the HOPE study. Diabetes Care 2000; 23(Suppl. 2):B35-B39.
  11. The Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE) Study Investigators. Effects of ramipril on cardiovascular and microvascular outcomes in people with diabetes mellitus: Results of the HOPE and MICRO-HOPE Study. Lancet 2000;355:253-259.
  12. Gerstein HC, Reddy SSK, Dawson KG,Yale J-F, Shannon S, Norman G. A Controlled Evaluation of a National Continuing Medical Education Program Designed to Improve Family Physicians' Implementation of Diabetes-Specific Clinical Practice Guidelines. Diabetic Medicine 1999; 16 (11):964-969.
  13. Coutinho M, Gerstein HC, Wang Y, Yusuf S. The relationship between glucose and incident cardiovascular events: A metaregression analysis of published data from 20 studies of 95783 individuals followed for 12.4 years. Diabetes Care 1999; 22(2):233-240.
  14. Gerstein HC, Yusuf S. Dysglycemia and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Lancet 1996; 347:949-950.

Textbook Editor

Gerstein HC, Haynes RB eds. Evidence-Based Diabetes Care .BC. Decker Inc. Hamilton 2001.

Editorials and Commentaries

  1. Gerstein HC. The glycated hemoglobin: Finally ready for prime time as a cardiovascular risk factor. Ann Int Med 2004; 141(6) 475-476.
  2. Gerstein HC. Why the glucose tolerance test just won’t go away. Can J Diabetes 2002;26(2):101-102.
  3. Gerstein HC. Fasting versus post-load glucose levels: Why the controversy? Diabetes Care 2001;24(11):1855-1857.
  4. Gerstein HC. Cardiovascular and Metabolic Benefits of ACE Inhibition: Moving Beyond Blood Pressure Reduction. Diabetes Care 2000; 23(7) 882-883.
  5. Gerstein HC. Is glucose a continuous risk factor for cardiovascular mortality? Diabetes Care 1999; 22(5): 659-660.
  6. Gerstein HC. Preventive medicine in a diabetes clinic: an opportunity to make a difference. Lancet 1999 353(9153):606-8.
  7. Gerstein HC. Essays in Prevention: Dysglycemia, not just diabetes, is a continuous risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Evidence-based Cardiovascular Medicine 1997; 1(4):87-88.