The impact of concordant and discordant conditions on the quality of care for hyperlipidemia.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Physician treatment of cardiovascular risk factors may be affected by specific types of patient comorbidities.

Objectives

To examine the relationship between discordant comorbidities and LDL-cholesterol management in hypertensive patients not previously treated with lipid-lowering therapy; to determine whether the presence of cardiovascular (concordant) conditions mediates this relationship.

Design

We performed a retrospective cohort study of 1,935 hypertensive primary care patients (men >45 years of age, women >55 years of age) with documented elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and no lipid-lowering therapy at baseline. The outcome was guideline-consistent hyperlipidemia management defined as optimal value on repeat LDL cholesterol testing

SUBMITTER: Lagu T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2517982 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature