Racial and ethnic differences in longitudinal blood pressure control in veterans with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Axon RN, Gebregziabher M, Echols C, Msph GG, Egede LE. Racial and ethnic differences in longitudinal blood pressure control in veterans with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Journal of general internal medicine. 2011 Nov 1; 26(11):1278-83.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• IIR 06-219 – Ethnic Differences in Medication Adherence and Cost for Elderly Veterans with DM

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Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined racial/ethnic differences in blood pressure (BP) control over time, especially in an equal access system. We examined racial/ethnic differences in longitudinal BP control in Veterans with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: We collected data on a retrospective cohort of 5,319 Veterans with type 2 diabetes and initially uncontrolled BP followed from 1996 to 2006 at a Veterans Administration (VA) facility in the southeastern United States. The mean blood pressure value for each subject for each year was used for the analysis with BP control defined as < 140/ < 90 mmHg. The primary outcome measure was proportion with controlled BP. The main predictor variable was race/ethnicity categorized as non-Hispanic White (NHW), non-Hispanic Black (NHB), or Hispanic/Other (H/O). Other covariates included age, gender, employment, marital status, service connectedness, and ICD-9 coded medical and psychiatric comorbidities. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess the relationship between race/ethnicity and BP control after adjusting for covariates. RESULTS: Mean follow-up was 5.0 years. The sample was 46% NHW, 26% NHB, 19% H/O, and 9% unknown. The average age was 68 years. In the final model, after adjusting for covariates, NHB race (OR = 1.38, 95%CI: 1.2, 1.6) and H/O race (OR = 1.57, 95% CI: 1.3, 1.8) were associated with increased likelihood of poor BP control ( > 140/ > 90 mmHg) over time compared to NHW patients. CONCLUSION: Ethnic minority Veterans with type 2 diabetes have significantly increased odds of poor BP control over ~5 years of follow-up compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts independent of sociodemographic factors and comorbidity patterns.