Clinical and economic benefits associated with the achievement of both HbA1c and LDL cholesterol goals in veterans with type 2 diabetes.

Objective: This study compared the clinical and economic benefits associated with dual-goal achievement, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c)<7% (53 mmol/mol) and LDL cholesterol (LDL-C)<100 mg/dL, with achievement of only the LDL-C goal or only the HbA1c goal in veterans with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Research Design And Methods: This retrospective cohort analysis evaluated electronic medical records (Veterans Integrated Service Network 16) in adult T2DM patients with two or more measurements of LDL-C and HbA1c between 1 January 2004 and 30 June 2010 (N=75,646). Cox proportional hazards models were used to compare microvascular and cardiovascular outcomes by goal achievement status; generalized linear regression models were used to assess diabetes-related resource utilization (hospitalization days and number of outpatient visits) and medical service costs.

Results: Relative to achievement of only the LDL-C goal, dual-goal achievement was associated with lower risk of microvascular complications (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 0.79), acute coronary syndrome (0.88), percutaneous coronary intervention (0.78), and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) (0.74); it was also associated with fewer hospitalization days (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 0.93) and outpatient visits (0.88), as well as lower diabetes-related annual medical costs (-$130.89). Compared with achievement of only the HbA1c goal, dual-goal achievement was associated with lower risk of the composite cardiovascular-related end point (aHR 0.87) and CABG (aHR 0.62), as well as fewer outpatient visits (aIRR 0.98).

Conclusions: Achieving both HbA1c and LDL-C goals in diabetes care is associated with additional clinical and economic benefits, as compared with the achievement of either goal alone.