Levels and trends in cardiovascular risk factors and drug treatment in 4837 elderly Dutch myocardial infarction patients between 2002 and 2006.
Summary of "Levels and trends in cardiovascular risk factors and drug treatment in 4837 elderly Dutch myocardial infarction patients between 2002 and 2006."
BACKGROUND:
It is important to gain insight into opportunities for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Our aim was to investigate levels and trends in cardiovascular risk factors and drug treatment in Dutch post-myocardial infarction (MI) patients between 2002 and 2006 and to make comparisons with the EUROASPIRE surveys (1999-2007).
METHODS:
We analysed data from 4837 post-MI patients (aged 69 years, 78% men) from 32 Dutch hospitals, using baseline cross-sectional data from the Alpha Omega Trial.
RESULTS:
Between 2002 and 2006, significant declines were found in the prevalence of smoking (23% to 16%, p < 0.001), hypercholesterolaemia (≥5 mmol/l; 54% to 27%, p < 0.0001) and hypertension (≥140/90 mmHg; 58% to 48%, p < 0.001). The prevalence of antithrombotic drugs was high (97%). The prevalence of lipid-modifying drugs and antihypertensives was high, and increased (74% to 90%, p < 0.0001 and 82% to 93%, p < 0.001, respectively). The prevalence of obesity (27%) was high in 2002 and decreased to 24% in 2006, albeit not significantly. Diabetes prevalence was high and increased between 2002 and 2006 (18% to 22%, p = 0.02). In comparison with EUROASPIRE patients, who were on average 8-10 years younger, our study in 2006 included patients with lower levels of obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes and lower use of antiplatelets and β-blockers, but similar levels of lipid-modifying drugs.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study showed that older Dutch post-MI patients were adequately treated with drugs, and that risk factors reached lower levels than in the younger EUROASPIRE patients. However, there is room for improvement in diet and lifestyle, given the high prevalence of smoking, obesity, and diabetes.
Affiliation
Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University, PO Box 8129, 6700 EV, Wageningen, the Netherlands, sabita.soedamah-muthu@wur.nl.
Journal Details
This article was published in the following journal.
Name: Netherlands heart journal : monthly journal of the Netherlands Society of Cardiology and the Netherlands Heart Foundation
ISSN: 1876-6250
Pages:
Links
- PubMed Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22314614
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12471-012-0248-z
Medical and Biotech [MESH] Definitions
Pharmacoepidemiology
The science concerned with the benefit and risk of drugs used in populations and the analysis of the outcomes of drug therapies. Pharmacoepidemiologic data come from both clinical trials and epidemiological studies with emphasis on methods for the detection and evaluation of drug-related adverse effects, assessment of risk vs benefit ratios in drug therapy, patterns of drug utilization, the cost-effectiveness of specific drugs, methodology of postmarketing surveillance, and the relation between pharmacoepidemiology and the formulation and interpretation of regulatory guidelines. (Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Saf 1992;1(1); J Pharmacoepidemiol 1990;1(1))
Causality
The relating of causes to the effects they produce. Causes are termed necessary when they must always precede an effect and sufficient when they initiate or produce an effect. Any of several factors may be associated with the potential disease causation or outcome, including predisposing factors, enabling factors, precipitating factors, reinforcing factors, and risk factors.
Safety-based Drug Withdrawals
Removal of a drug from the market due to the identification of an intrinsic property of the drug that results in a serious risk to public health.
Prehypertension
Blood pressure levels that are between normotension and hypertension. Individuals with prehypertension are at a higher risk for developing cardiovascular diseases. Generally, prehypertension is defined as SYSTOLIC PRESSURE of 131-139 mm Hg and/or DIASTOLIC PRESSURE of 81-89 when the optimal is 120/80 mm Hg. For diabetics and other metabolism diseases the prehypertension is around 110-129/70-79 mm Hg.
Confounding Factors (epidemiology)
Factors that can cause or prevent the outcome of interest, are not intermediate variables, and are not associated with the factor(s) under investigation. They give rise to situations in which the effects of two processes are not separated, or the contribution of causal factors cannot be separated, or the measure of the effect of exposure or risk is distorted because of its association with other factors influencing the outcome of the study.
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