Trends in cardiovascular risk factors among people with diabetes in a population based study, Health Survey for England 1994–2009

AimsWe evaluated trends in cardiovascular risk factors in a population-based sample of people with diabetes in England from 1994 to 2009.MethodsData were obtained from Health Survey for England for 1994, 1998, 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2009. Participants were aged ≥30 years with self-reported diabetes.ResultsThe standerdised prevalence of diabetes increased from 2.8% in 1994 to 6.4% in 2009 and the prevalence among males was higher than females throughout. The trend in prevalence was more apparent in manual workers. From 1994 to 2009, mean systolic blood pressure declined from 148 mmHg to 137 mmHg; mean diastolic pressure declined from 80 mmHg to 70 mmHg; mean total cholesterol declined from 6.1 mmol/L to 4.5 mmol/L over the 15 years with linear trends. The proportion prescribed lipid lowering drugs increased from 2.2% to 47.4%. The percentage of current smokers declined from 17.5% to 13.4%. Mean body mass index increased from 27.7 kg/m2 to 31.6 kg/m2 with an overall increase of 0.24 kg/m2 per year. Risk factor trends were generally similar between genders and social classes but the decline in smoking was not significant for men or for manual workers.ConclusionsPeople with clinical diabetes have experienced substantial reductions in blood pressure, total cholesterol and smoking over 15 years. Increasing body mass index and persistence of smoking in lower socioeconomic groups, may compromise these improvements.