1
|
Gaffey AE, Chang TE, Brandt CA, Haskell SG, Dhruva SS, Bastian LA, Levine A, Skanderson M, Burg MM. Blood Pressure Control and Maintenance in a Prospective Cohort of Younger Veterans: Roles of Sex, Race, Ethnicity, and Social Determinants of Health. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.04.22.24306203. [PMID: 38712220 PMCID: PMC11071551 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.22.24306203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Background Proactive blood pressure (BP) management is particularly beneficial for younger Veterans, who have a greater prevalence and earlier onset of cardiovascular disease than non-Veterans. It is unknown what proportion of younger Veterans achieve and maintain BP control after hypertension onset and if BP control differs by demographics and social deprivation. Methods Electronic health records were merged from Veterans who enrolled in VA care 10/1/2001-9/30/2017 and met criteria for hypertension - first diagnosis or antihypertensive fill. BP control (140/90 mmHg), was estimated 1, 2, and 5 years post-hypertension documentation, and characterized by sex, race, and ethnicity. Adjusted logistic regressions assessed likelihood of BP control by these demographics and with the Social Deprivation Index (SDI). Results Overall, 17% patients met criteria for hypertension (n=198,367; 11% of women, median age 41). One year later, 59% of men and 65% of women achieved BP control. After adjustment, women had a 72% greater odds of BP control than men, with minimal change over 5 years. Black adults had a 22% lower odds of BP control than White adults. SDI did not significantly change these results. Conclusions In the largest study of hypertension in younger Veterans, 41% of men and 35% of women did not have BP control after 1 year, and BP control was consistently better for women through 5 years. Thus, the first year of hypertension management portends future, long-term BP control. As social deprivation did not affect BP control, the VA system may protect against disadvantages observed in the general U.S. population.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Allison E. Gaffey
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT
- Department of Internal Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine)
| | - Tiffany E. Chang
- Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT
| | - Cynthia A. Brandt
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT
- Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Medicine
| | - Sally G. Haskell
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT
- Department of Internal Medicine (General Medicine), Yale School of Medicine
| | - Sanket S. Dhruva
- San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, CA
- Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine
| | - Lori A. Bastian
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT
- Department of Internal Medicine (General Medicine), Yale School of Medicine
| | | | | | - Matthew M. Burg
- VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT
- Department of Internal Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine)
- Department of Anesthesiology, Yale School of Medicine
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Dhruva SS, Dziura J, Bathulapalli H, Rosman L, Gaffey AE, Davis MB, Brandt CA, Haskell SG. Gender Differences in Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy for Cardiovascular Disease Among Young Veterans. J Gen Intern Med 2022; 37:806-815. [PMID: 36042086 PMCID: PMC9481764 DOI: 10.1007/s11606-022-07595-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 04/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is an increasing burden of cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease (CAD) and heart failure (HF), among women Veterans. Clinical practice guidelines recommend multiple pharmacotherapies that can reduce risk of mortality and adverse cardiovascular outcomes. OBJECTIVE To determine if there are disparities in the use of guideline-directed medical therapy by gender among Veterans with incident CAD and HF. DESIGN Retrospective. PARTICIPANTS Veterans (934,504; 87.8% men and 129,469; 12.2% women) returning from Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn. MAIN MEASURES Differences by gender in the prescription of Class 1, Level of Evidence A guideline-directed medical therapy among patients who developed incident CAD and HF at 30 days, 90 days, and 12 months after diagnosis. For CAD, medications included statins and antiplatelet therapy. For HF, medications included beta-blockers and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors. KEY RESULTS Overall, women developed CAD and HF at a younger average age than men (mean 45.8 vs. 47.7 years, p<0.001; and 43.7 vs. 45.4 years, p<0.02, respectively). In the 12 months following a diagnosis of incident CAD, the odds of a woman receiving a prescription for at least one CAD drug was 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-1.08) compared to men. In the 12 months following a diagnosis of incident HF, the odds of a woman receiving at least one HF medication was 0.54 (95% CI, 0.37-0.79) compared to men. CONCLUSIONS Despite guideline recommendations, young women Veterans have approximately half the odds of being prescribed guideline-directed medical therapy within 1-year after a diagnosis of HF. These results highlight the need to develop targeted strategies to minimize gender disparities in CVD care to prevent adverse outcomes in this young and growing population.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sanket S Dhruva
- San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, San Francisco, CA, USA. .,Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, UCSF School of Medicine, 4150 Clement St., Building 203, 111C, San Francisco, CA, 94121, USA.
| | - James Dziura
- Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, West Haven, USA.,Pain Research, Informatics, Multimorbidities and Education (PRIME) Center of Innovation, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Harini Bathulapalli
- Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, West Haven, USA.,Department of Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Lindsey Rosman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Allison E Gaffey
- Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, West Haven, USA.,Department of Internal Medicine (Cardiovascular Medicine), Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Melinda B Davis
- Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Cynthia A Brandt
- Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, West Haven, USA.,Pain Research, Informatics, Multimorbidities and Education (PRIME) Center of Innovation, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Sally G Haskell
- Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, West Haven, USA.,Pain Research, Informatics, Multimorbidities and Education (PRIME) Center of Innovation, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.,Department of Internal Medicine (General), Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Early NK, Buckley K, Entsuah N, Fairman KA. Association of Cardiovascular Disease and Military Veteran Status With Impairments in Physical and Psychological Functioning: Retrospective Cross-Sectional Analysis of US National Survey Data. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol Ther 2022; 27:10742484221091015. [PMID: 35377773 DOI: 10.1177/10742484221091015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) provides multidisciplinary team-based care with peer-to-peer support for diabetes and obesity, but not for most heart diseases. OBJECTIVE To inform disease-care models, assess physical and psychological functioning in veterans with, or at high risk of, heart disease. METHODS Retrospective, cross-sectional cohort analysis of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 2015-2019, based on standard measures of functioning: self-rated health, serious psychological distress, and high-risk substance use. Cohorts were veterans with respondent-reported heart disease, or at high risk of cardiovascular disease based on age/comorbidity combinations (HD/risk); nonveterans with HD/risk; and veterans without HD/risk. Ordinal logistic regression models adjusted for demographics, social determinants of health, and chronic conditions. A priori alpha was set to 0.01 because of large sample size (N = 28,314). RESULTS Among those with HD/risk, veterans (n = 3,483) and nonveterans (n = 16,438) had similar physical impairments, but distress trended higher among veterans (adjusted odds ratio = 1.36, 99% confidence interval [CI] = 0.99-1.86). Among those with comorbid HD/risk and behavioral health problems, regression-adjusted treatment rates were similar for veterans and nonveterans with psychological symptoms (55.9% vs. 55.2%, respectively, P = 0.531) or high-risk substance use (18.7% vs. 19.4%, P = .547); veterans were more likely to receive outpatient mental health treatment (36.1% [CI = 34.4%-37.8%] vs. 28.9% [CI = 28.2%-29.6%]). CONCLUSION An upward trend in distress among veterans compared with nonveterans with HD/risk was not explained by differences in behavioral health treatment utilization. Further research should test multidisciplinary team-based care for veterans with HD/risk, similar to that used for other chronic diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole K Early
- Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale Campus, Glendale, AZ, USA. Entsuah is now with School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 8788University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Kelsey Buckley
- Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale Campus, Glendale, AZ, USA. Entsuah is now with School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 8788University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Nana Entsuah
- Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale Campus, Glendale, AZ, USA. Entsuah is now with School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 8788University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Kathleen A Fairman
- Midwestern University College of Pharmacy, Glendale Campus, Glendale, AZ, USA. Entsuah is now with School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 8788University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|