Diabetes target achievement up from 1999 to 2010, more needed

(HealthDay)—For U.S. adults with diabetes there has been an improvement in achievement of targets from 1999 to 2010, but many still do not meet the recommended goals, according to research published in the April 25 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Mohammed K. Ali, M.B., Ch.B., M.B.A., from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to investigate risk-factor control, preventive practices, and risk scores for coronary heart disease for adults with self-reported diabetes over the 1999 to 2010 period.

The authors found that there was an increase in the weighted proportion of survey participants who met the recommended targets for diabetes care from 1999 through 2010 (7.9 percent for glycemic control, 9.4 percent for individualized glycemic targets, 11.7 percent for blood pressure, and 20.8 percent for lipid levels). There was no significant change in tobacco use. There was a 2.8 to 3.7 percent decrease in the 10-year probability of coronary heart disease. The targets for glycemic control, blood pressure, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were not met by 33.4 to 48.7 percent of those with diabetes, while only 14.3 percent met the targets for all three measures and for tobacco use.

"Although there were improvements in risk-factor control and adherence to preventive practices from 1999 to 2010, tobacco use remained high, and almost half of U.S. adults with diabetes did not meet the recommended goals for diabetes care," the authors write.