Table 1.

Treatment protocol for the routine care and intervention groups in ADDITION-Europe

SettingRoutine careIntervention
Practice (except in Leicester, where patients had access to community-based clinics every 2 months)Individuals in the routine care group received standard diabetes care according to national guidelines in each country.18–21 During the course of the study, national guidelines incorporated some elements of the intervention.22–24Treatment targets and algorithms were based on trial data.3–6,14 Targets included:

  • keeping HbA1c below 53 mmol/l (7.0%)

  • blood pressure to ≤135/85 mm Hg

  • cholesterol to <5 mmol/l without ischaemic heart disease or <4.5 mmol/l with ischaemic heart disease

  • prescription of aspirin to those treated with antihypertensive medication.

The treatment algorithm was amended to include a recommendation to prescribe a statin to all patients with a cholesterol level ≥3.5 mmol/l, following publication of the Heart Protection Study.25