(HealthDay News) — Despite increases in HbA1c testing and awareness, glycemic control seems to have plateaued among patients with diabetes between 2007 and 2014, according to a research letter published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Saeid Shahraz, MD, PhD, from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and colleagues examined recent trends in glycemic control and patient awareness of HbA1c test results and targets using data from four survey periods of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2008, 2009-2010, 2011-2012, and 2013-2014).
The researchers found that glycemic control did not change between 2007-2008 and 2013-2014 overall or in any subgroup. Over the study period, a higher proportion of patients with diabetes reported having an HbA1c test within the past year (55.1% in 2007-2008 versus 77.78% in 2013-2014). There was a similar change in all subgroups. There was also a significant increase in the% of patients reporting being aware of their past-year HbA1c result (52.32% in 2007-2008 versus 74.31% in 2013-2014). This change was statistically significant in all subgroups except participants aged 20 to 44 years.
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“The improvement in glycemic control between 1998 and 2010 among patients with diabetes appears to have plateaued during 2007-2014,” conclude the authors.
