A longitudinal study of sociodemographic predictors of hemoglobin A1c

Abstract

This research examined sociodemographic predictors of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) among diabetic patients in an outpatient urban medical center. All patients with diabetes during a 7.5-year period were selected. Regression analyses determined the association of the last HbA1c level with insurance, ethnicity, age, gender, marital status, employment, socialsecuritynumber (present/absent), and number of clinic visits. Patients (N=748) were followed an average of 3.2 years. After multivariate adjustment, the following variables predicted a higher value for the last HbAlc (P < 0.05): Absence of insurance, African American ethnicity, Hispanic ethnicity, younger age, and fewer clinic visits per year. These relationships to HbA1c persisted after adjustment for follow-up duration and after limiting the analysis to patients with type 2 diabetes only (N=662). In conclusion, absence ofhealthinsurance, ethnicity, young age, and fewer clinic visits are independent predictors of HbAlc and should be given consideration in diabetes research and glycemic control.