Data Provides Insight Into Difference in Patient Outcomes

Objective:Data from Federally Qualified Health Care Centers on patient visits between 2004 and 2009 were analyzed to determine if there were differences in outcomes between 2 groups.

Methods:Comparisons were conducted using 2 subsets of data: patients with diabetes only and co-morbid patients (those with both diabetes and cardiovascular disease). Total numbers of patients in these groups increased over time in the diabetes only group from 62 patients in 2004 to 724 patients in 2009, and from 78 co-morbid patients in 2004 to 1,766 patients in 2009.

Results:Overall, outcomes were slightly better in the co-morbid patients than among the patients who just have diabetes.  The percent of patients in 2004 with an average HgA₁c < 7 was 38.30% among diabetes only patients compared to 42.91% among the co-morbid patients.  By 2009, the percentage decreased to 37.21% in the diabetes only group, but increased to 48.60% among the co-morbid patients.  When considering blood pressure, the percent of patients with blood pressure <130/80 decreased during the study period from 76.79% to 73.98%, and increased from 58.42% to 65.97% in the diabetes only and co-morbid groups respectively.  These data indicate an interesting phenomenon.  It appears that co-morbid patients have better outcomes in terms of HgA₁c and blood pressure values than do those with just diabetes.

Conclusion:The reasons for this are unclear but may possibly be due to several factors including the increased visit times among co-morbid patients who have both diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  Further research is warranted.