Key Points español 中文 (chinese) Question
How do cardiovascular health outcomes of physicians compare with those of the general population?
Findings
This cohort study of 17 071 practicing physicians and 5 306 038 members of the general population in Ontario found that physicians used fewer guideline-recommended preventive services and had lower rates of cardiac risk factors. At 8 years’ follow-up, physicians had a substantially lower risk of adverse outcomes than the general population, even after adjusting for differences in risk factors and health services.
Meaning
Ontario physicians have better cardiovascular outcomes than the general population, and the difference in outcomes between physicians and nonphysicians was not fully explained by traditional cardiac risk factors.
Importance
Although cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in most developed countries, little is known about current physicians’ cardiovascular health and outcomes.
Objective
To compare cardiac risk factor burden, health services use, and major cardiovascular event incidence between physicians and the general population.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This cohort study used data from practicing physicians and nonphysicians without cardiovascular disease aged 40 to 75 years in Ontario, Canada. Cohorts were assembled beginning January 1, 2008, and were followed up to December 31, 2015. Data analysis was performed between November 2017 and September 2019.
Exposure
Being a practicing physician.
Main Outcomes and Measures
The primary outcome was 8-year incidence of a major cardiovascular event (ie, cardiovascular death or hospitalization for myocardial infarction, stroke, heart failure, or coronary revascularization). Secondary outcomes included health services used, such as physician assessments and guideline-recommended tests.
Results
The cohort comprised 17 071 physicians (mean [SD] age, 53.3 [8.8] years; 11 963 [70.1%] men) and 5 306 038 nonphysicians (mean [SD] age, 53.7 [9.5] years; 2 556 044 [48.2%] men). Physicians had significantly lower baseline rates of hypertension (16.9% vs 29.6%), diabetes (5.0% vs 11.3%), and smoking (13.1% vs 21.6%), while having better cholesterol profiles (total cholesterol levels >240 mg/dL, 13.3% vs 16.5%; low-density lipoprotein cholesterol >130 mg/dL, 33.2% vs 36.8%); age- and sex-adjusted differences were even larger. Physicians also had lower rates of periodic health examinations (58.9% [95% CI, 57.5%-60.4%] vs 67.9% [95% CI, 67.8%-67.9%]), hyperlipidemia screening (76.3% [95% CI, 74.7%-78.0%] vs 83.8% [95% CI, 83.7%-83.9%]), and diabetes screening (79.0% [95% CI, 77.3%-80.8%] vs 85.3% [95% CI, 85.2%-85.4%]), but higher rates of cardiologist consultations (25.2% [95% CI, 24.2%-26.3%] vs 19.5% [95% CI, 19.4%-19.5%]). The 8-year age- and sex-standardized primary outcome incidence was 4.4 major cardiovascular events per 1000 person-years for physicians and 7.1 major cardiovascular events per 1000 person-years for the general population. After adjusting for age, sex, socioeconomic status, and cardiac risks and comorbidities, physicians had a 22% lower hazard (hazard ratio, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.72-0.85) of experiencing the primary outcome compared with the general population.
Conclusions and Relevance
Practicing physicians in Ontario had fewer cardiovascular risk factors, underwent less preventive testing, and were less likely to experience major adverse cardiovascular outcomes than the general population.