Trends in lipid profiles and control of LDL-C among adults with diabetes in the United States: An analysis of NHANES 2007–2018

Background and aim To determine trends in lipid profiles and lipid control in US adults with diabetes and assess variation in these trends across sex and race/ethnicity from 2007 to 2018. Methods and results Serial cross-sectional analysis of data from diabetic adults participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES; 2007–2008 to 2017–2018). Among the 6116 participants included (weighted mean age, 61.0 years; 50.7% men), age-adjusted TC (p for trend < 0.001), LDL-C (p for trend < 0.001), TG (p for trend = 0.006), TG/HDL-C (p for trend = 0.014) and VLDL-C (p for trend = 0.015) decreased significantly. Age-adjusted LDL-C levels were consistently higher in women than in men over the study period. Age-adjusted LDL-C improved significantly for diabetic whites and blacks but did not change significantly for the other races/ethnicity. Lipid parameters improved for non-coronary heart disease (CHD) diabetic adults, except for HDL-C, while no lipid parameter significantly changed for diabetic adults with concomitant CHD. Among diabetic adults receiving statin therapy, age-adjusted lipid control remained unchanged from 2007 to 2018, as did adults with concomitant CHD. However, age-adjusted lipid control improved significantly for men (p for trend < 0.01) and diabetic Mexican Americans (p for trend < 0.01). In 2015–2018, female diabetic participants receiving statins had lower odds of achieving lipid control (OR: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.35–0.84; P = 0.006) than men. Differences in lipid control across different races/ethnicities no longer existed. Conclusions Lipid profiles improved in the US adults with diabetes from 2007 to 2018. Although rates of lipid control did not improve nationally in adults receiving statins, these patterns varied by sex and race/ethnicity.