Effectiveness of a prevention program in the incidence of cardiovascular outcomes in a low-income population from Colombia: a real-world propensity score-matched cohort study.

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are among the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) but evidence in these contexts regarding the effectiveness of primary prevention interventions taking into account patient adherence is scarce. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a cardiovascular risk management program (De Todo Corazón - DTC program) in the incidence of the first cardiovascular outcome (CVO) in a low-income population from the Caribbean region of Colombia using adherence as the main variable of exposure.

Methods: A retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study was conducted. Adult patients with a diagnosis of hypertension (HTA), diabetes mellitus (DM), chronic kidney disease (CKD), or dyslipidemia affiliated to the DTC program between 2013 and 2018 were considered as the study population. Patients with 30 to 76 years, without a history of CVOs, and with more than 6 months of exposure to the program were included. The main outcome of interest was the reduction in the risk of CVOs (stroke, myocardial infarction, or congestive heart failure) based on the adherence to the intervention (attendance to medical appointments with health care professionals and the control of cardiovascular risk factors). Kaplan Meier curves and propensity score-matched Cox regression models were used to evaluate the association between adherence and the incidence of CVOs.

Results: A total of 52,507 patients were included. After propensity score matching, a sample of 35,574 patients was analyzed. Mean (SD) exposure time was 1.97 (0.92) years. Being adherent to the program was associated to a 85.4, 71.9, 32.4 and 78.9% risk reduction of in the low (HR 0.14; 95% CI 0.05-0.37; p < 0.001), medium (HR 0.28; 95% CI 0.21-0.36; p < 0.001), high-risk with DM (HR 0.67; 95% CI 0.43-1.04; p = 0.075) and hig-risk without DM (HR 0.21; 95% CI 0.09-0.48; p < 0.001) categories, respectively.

Conclusions: The DTC program is effective in the reduction of the risk of CVOs. Population-based interventions may be an important strategy for the prevention of CVOs in underserved populations in the context of LMICs. A more exhaustive emphasis on the control of diabetes mellitus should be considered in these strategies.