Ten-Year Effectiveness of the Multidisciplinary Risk Assessment and Management Programme–Diabetes Mellitus (RAMP-DM) on Macrovascular and Microvascular Complications and All-Cause Mortality: A Population-Based Cohort Study

Abstract

OBJECTIVE The Risk Assessment and Management Programme–Diabetes Mellitus (RAMP-DM) is a protocol-driven, risk-stratified, and individualized management program offered by a multidisciplinary team in addition to usual care for primary care patients with diabetes. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of RAMP-DM for preventing complications and mortality over 10 years. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A population-based, prospective cohort study of adult patients with type 2 diabetes managed in the Hong Kong public primary health care system between 2009 and 2010 was conducted. RAMP-DM participants and usual care patients were matched using one-to-one propensity score matching and followed for 10 years. Risks of macrovascular and microvascular complications and all-cause mortality were estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression. RESULTS A total of 36,746 patients (18,373 in each group) were included after propensity score matching, with a median follow-up of 9.5 years and 306,802 person-years. RAMP-DM participants had significantly lower risks of macrovascular (hazard ratio [HR] 0.52, 95% CI 0.50–0.54) and microvascular (HR 0.68, 95% CI 0.64–0.72) complications and all-cause mortality (HR 0.45, 95% CI 0.43–0.47) than patients who received usual care only. However, the effect of RAMP-DM on macrovascular and microvascular complications attenuated after the 9th and 8th year of follow-up, respectively. RAMP-DM participants also showed better control of hemoglobin A1c, blood pressure, triglycerides, and BMI and a slower decline in renal function. CONCLUSIONS Significant reductions in diabetes-related complications and all-cause mortality were observed among RAMP-DM participants over a 10-year follow-up, yet the effect of preventing complications attenuated after 8 years.