Table 1 Characteristics of the case vignettes.

	Patient 1	Patient 2	Patient 3	Patient 4
Age (years)	46	62	53	52
Sex	Male	Male	Female	Female
Type of diabetes	Type 2	Type 2	Type 1	Type 2
Duration of diabetes since diagnosis (years)	Newly diagnosed	12	33	4
BP status	Hypertonic, treated with antihypertensives (systolic BP: 150 mm Hg)	Systolic BP: 190 mm Hg	Hypertonic, treated with antihypertensives (systolic BP: 170 mm Hg)	Hypertonic, treated with antihypertensives (systolic BP: 170 mm Hg)
Smoking habits	Smoker (20 cigarettes/day)	Smoker	Non‐smoker	Non‐smoker
Screening for diabetic eye disease	None performed	Performed without finding	Performed without finding	Performed without finding
Screening for diabetic kidney disease	None performed	Performed without finding	Microalbuminuria	Microalbuminuria
HbA1c value (%)	13.0	6.7	9.3	12.5
Blood lipid status
Total cholesterol (mg/dl)	274	205	136	203
HDL‐cholesterol (mg/dl)	25	47	44	31
Triglycerides (mg/dl)	226	129	101	715
Other conditions	No other pre‐existing cardiovascular disease known	No blood glucose self‐monitoring	Blood glucose self‐monitoring, four times daily	No blood glucose self‐monitoring

BP, blood pressure; HbA1c, glycosylated haemoglobin; HDL, high‐density lipoprotein.