Cardiovascular risk and treatment for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities

Background: People with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDDs) face the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD) similar to the general population. The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the presence of CVD risk factors, the atherosclerotic cardiovascular (ASCVD) risk score, and medication prescribing patterns for medications to treat related risk factors for patients with IDD and those without. Methods: This was a retrospective study of patients age 18 years and older of a health system's primary care medicine practices. The IDD group had documentation of a diagnosis related to IDD. The comparison group was a random sample of patients from the same practices who had no indication of IDD. Patient characteristics included demographics, smoking status, cholesterol, and blood pressure. The presence of a diagnosis of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, coronary artery disease, history of stroke or myocardial infarction, and related medication therapy were documented. The dependent variable was the estimated 10-year primary risk of ASCVD. Results: The IDD group included 78 patients while the GenMed group included 187. There were no significant differences in the prevalence of risk-related diagnoses or in blood pressure and cholesterol between the two groups. The estimated 10-year ASCVD risk was significantly higher in the GenMed group compared to the IDD group (p = 0.02). Prescribing was similar between the groups. The regression analysis found that group assignment was not significantly associated with ASCVD risk, while age, gender, and race were. Conclusions: CV risk and related treatment among patients with IDD was similar to that of the general population. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.