Category: Federal Forum Posters
Purpose: Adults with diabetes (DM) are two to four times more likely to die from cardiovascular (CV) disease than adults without diabetes. Additionally, age is an independent risk factor for CV risk. The American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology recommend the use of statins for primary prevention in patients with DM, regardless of serum cholesterol levels. However, these guidelines exclude older adults, as data on statin use in this population is limited. The purpose of this study is to determine if older adults with new-onset DM receiving a statin for primary prevention will have a decreased rate of CV events.
Methods: This quality improvement project will be a retrospective chart review pending approval from the Office of Privacy and Records Management. Veterans 75 years of age and older with a new DM diagnosis and no prior CV event (myocardial infarction, stroke, percutaneous coronary intervention, stent placement, coronary artery bypass graft) prior to 2012 will be included in this study and followed for five years. Included veterans will then be divided into two cohorts based on whether they have a new prescription for a statin or no statin prescription, after diabetes diagnosis. We will collect data from the two cohorts such as patient demographics, relevant disease states, medications affecting cardiovascular risk, lab values, CV events, and relevant data from annual primary care appointments. The primary outcome is to determine if veterans 75 years and older with a new diagnosis of DM, prescribed a statin for primary prevention, will have a decreased rate of CV events when compared to those not on a statin. The secondary outcomes are to determine if there is a decreased rate of stroke and all-cause mortality. Appropriate statistical analysis will be utilized to analyze the outcomes.
Results: not applicable
Conclusion: not applicable
Kelly Krieger
– Student, University at Buffalo, Amherst, NY146 Views