Level of interprofessionalism in the management of T2D in primary care: All-cause and cause-specific mortality

AIMS: This study aimed to examine the association of the level of nurse and general practitioner (GP) interprofessional care on all-cause and cause-specific mortality in patients aged 60 years or more with T2D. METHODS: This cohort study was conducted between January 2002 and December 2018 in the public primary health care of Vantaa, Finland. An index was created to measure the level of interprofessional care. Mortality was measured with standardized mortality ratio (SMR). Analyzed causes of death included cardiovascular diseases, dementia, digestive system diseases, cancer and respiratory diseases. RESULTS: 11 020 patients were followed for 71 598 person years. Mean follow-up time was 7.3 years. The group with slightly nurse-centred care had the lowest mortality (SMR 0.92, 95 % CI 0.87 - 0.97) and the group with the most GP-centred care had the highest mortality (SMR 2.69: 95 % CI 2.27 - 3.19). Cardiovascular diseases were the leading cause of death in all groups followed by cancer and dementia varying in rank. CONCLUSIONS: Slightly nurse-centred interprofessional care might reduce mortality in patients with T2D. Common causes of death in general population were prevalent in patients with T2D.