National Trends in the Achievement of Recommended Strategies for Stroke Prevention in US Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, 2001-2018

OBJECTIVE To assess the national prevalence of and trends in achieving current guideline-recommended treatment goals and pharmacotherapies for primary and secondary prevention of stroke among U.S. adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We performed serial cross-sectional analyses in 4,834 adults aged >= 45 years with T2D who participated in the 2001-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. With stratification by stroke history, we estimated the proportion of adults with T2D who achieved current guideline-recommended strategies for stroke prevention. Preventive strategies for stroke were benchmarked against diabetes care and cardiovascular risk reduction guidelines. RESULTS Overall in 2001-2018, among those without stroke history, the proportion who achieved primary stroke prevention strategies ranged from 8.4% (95% CI 6.8-10.1) for aspirin/clopidogrel treatment in those with a higher cardiovascular disease risk to 80.5% (78.8-82.2) for nonsmoking. Among those with stroke history, the proportion who achieved secondary stroke prevention strategies ranged from 11.8% (8.7-14.8) for weight control to 80.0% (74.9-84.9) for glycemic control. From 2001 to 2018, among those without stroke history, there was a significant increase in statin therapy (P-trend < 0.0001), smoking abstinence (P-trend = 0.01), and ACE inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker treatment for hypertension (P-trend = 0.04) but a substantial decline in weight control (P-trend < 0.001). Among those with stroke history, only statin therapy (P-trend = 0.01) increased significantly over time. CONCLUSIONS During 2001-2018, the achievement of some current guideline-recommended strategies for stroke prevention among U.S. adults with T2D improved but remains a challenge overall. Efforts are needed to improve implementation of strategies for stroke prevention in this population.