Management of Cardiovascular Risk among Moroccan Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and investigate cardiovascular risk management among type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients in the city of Meknes. Materials and methods: In a non-interventional cross-sectional study, we enrolled adult outpatients (= 18 years old) with T2D from the endocrinology and diabetology consultation of the Military Hospital of Meknes from June 2021 to January 2022. Informed consent was signed by all participants in the study. Assessment of cardiovascular risk was based on European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines on cardiovascular disease prevention in clinical practice of 2021. Clinical, biological and therapeutic data were compared between patients with and without cardiovascular disease. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 18 statistical software. Results: One hundred eighty T2D patients were enrolled. The mean age was 59.42 ± 8.72 years. The prevalence of cardiovascular disease was 13.3%. The prescription of statin (p < 0.001), antihypertensive treatment (p < 0.001) and platelet aggregation inhibitors (p < 0.001) was significantly higher in patients with cardiovascular disease. Overall, 5.6% patients were prescribed a blood glucose-lowering agent with demonstrated cardiovascular benefit. This prescription was higher in patients with cardiovascular disease (5 (20.8%) vs. 5 (3.2%); p = 0.004). It was found that 7.2% patients had an optimal cardiovascular risk factor management. Conclusions: The prevalence of cardiovascular disease among T2D patients is high in the city of Meknes. Despite an optimal prescription of cardiovascular medications, comprehensive control of cardiovascular risk factors is not achieved in most patients. The use of blood glucose-lowering agents with demonstrated cardiovascular benefit was low but significantly higher among patients with cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]