Table 2.
Baseline Characteristics by Group
| Intervention group | Control group | |
|---|---|---|
| Practice and GP characteristics | ||
| Practices | 21 | 22 |
| GPs | 36 | 35 |
| GPs per practice | 1.0 (1.0–2.0) | 1.0 (1.0–2.0) |
| Network participation (no) | 4 (11.1) | 2(5.7) |
| Age | 48.0 (42.0–57.3) | 54.0 (46.0–63.0) |
| Gender (male) | 24 (66.7) | 27 (77.1) |
| Volume of patients with DM per GP (%) | 5.0 (3.3–6.4) | 4.9 (3.7–6.4) |
| Patient characteristics | ||
| Patients | 1771 | 2067 |
| Patient age | 70.0 (59.0–79.0) | 69.0 (60.0–77.0) |
| Patient gender (male) | 989 (55.8) | 1209 (58.6) |
| Treatment and disease characteristics | ||
| Consultations in observation period | 8 (3–15) | 7 (3–12) |
| Blood pressure measurements | 3 (1–4) | 2 (1–4) |
| Systolic blood pressure [mm Hg] | 137.5 (128.4–149.0) | 134.0 (125.0–143.3) |
| Diastolic blood pressure [mm Hg] | 80.0 (74.0–86.0) | 80.0 (73.3–85.0) |
| HbA1c measurements | 2 (1–3) | 3 (1–4) |
| HbA1c [%] | 6.8 (6.3–7.5) | 6.8 (6.3–7.5) |
| Cholesterol measurement | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–1) |
| Cholesterol [mmol/L] | 4.5 (3.8–5.3) | 4.6 (3.8–5.4) |
| BMI measurements | 2 (1–3) | 2 (1–3) |
| BMI [kg/m2] | 29.4 (26.5–33.1) | 29.6 (26.3–33.5) |
| DM associated comorbidities | ||
| Obesity | 759 (42.9) | 855 (41.4) |
| Hypertension | 1566 (88.4) | 1765 (85.4) |
| Hyperlipidemia | 1098 (62.0) | 1167 (56.5) |
| Chronic kidney disease | 212 (12.0) | 242 (11.7) |
| Peripheral arterial disease | 54 (3.0) | 80 (3.9) |
| Coronary heart disease | 127 (7.2) | 107 (5.2) |
| Heart failure | 48 (2.7) | 35 (1.7) |
| Stroke | 29 (1.6) | 38 (1.8) |
| Retinopathy | 11 (0.6) | 3 (0.1) |
| Neuropathy | 44 (2.5) | 56 (2.7) |
| DM associated medication | ||
| Insulin only | 159 (9.0) | 129 (6.2) |
| Oral anti-diabetic medication only | 866 (48.9) | 1112 (53.8) |
| Combination therapy insulin and oral anti-diabetic medication | 258 (14.6) | 262 (12.7) |
| Antihypertensive medication | 862 (48.7) | 975 (47.2) |
| Antiplatelet therapy and anticoagulants | 736 (41.6) | 806 (39.0) |
| Lipid-lowering medication | 258 (14.6) | 262 (12.7) |