This study examined changes in cardiovascular risk disease (CVD) factors among individuals in their 50s (n=4195) and 60s (n=3178) with and without type 2 diabetes from 1970 to 2005 in the Framingham Heart Study cohort. Among the 50-year old group, an increased body mass index (BMI) of 0.39 kg/m2 was observed per decade in individuals without diabetes compared to an increased BMI of 2.52 kg/m2 in patients with diabetes. Plasma LDL cholesterol concentrations decreased -7.43 mg/dL per decade in non-diabetic individuals compared to -15.5 mg/dL in diabetic individuals probably because of increased lipid-lowering use in this group. Systolic blood pressure also decreased but in a similar manner in individuals with and without diabetes. Similar findings were observed in the 60-year old group. Finally, individuals with type 2 diabetes have had declines in major CVD risk factors over the past years but these improvements have not been sufficient to overcome their CVD risk factor burden compared to those without type 2 diabetes. Thus, further efforts are needed among patients with type 2 diabetes to aggressively control CVD risk.
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