Pharmacist Interventions to Improve Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Diabetes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assesses the effect of pharmacist care on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among outpatients with diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched. Pharmacist interventions were classified, and a meta-analysis of mean changes of blood pressure (BP), total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and BMI was performed using random-effects models. RESULTS: The meta-analysis included 15 RCTs (9,111 outpatients) in which interventions were conducted exclusively by pharmacists in 8 studies and in collaboration with physicians, nurses, dietitians, or physical therapists in 7 studies. Pharmacist interventions included medication management, educational interventions, feedback to physicians, measurement of CVD risk factors, or patient-reminder systems. Compared with usual care, pharmacist care was associated with significant reductions for systolic BP (12 studies with 1,894 patients; −6.2 mmHg [95% CI −7.8 to −4.6]); diastolic BP (9 studies with 1,496 patients; −4.5 mmHg [−6.2 to −2.8]); TC (8 studies with 1,280 patients; −15.2 mg/dL [−24.7 to −5.7]); LDL cholesterol (9 studies with 8,084 patients; −11.7 mg/dL [−15.8 to −7.6]); and BMI (5 studies with 751 patients; −0.9 kg/m(2) [−1.7 to −0.1]). Pharmacist care was not associated with a significant change in HDL cholesterol (6 studies with 826 patients; 0.2 mg/dL [−1.9 to 2.4]). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis supports pharmacist interventions—alone or in collaboration with other health care professionals—to improve major CVD risk factors among outpatients with diabetes.