The relationship between HbA_1c level, symptoms and self-rated health in type 2 diabetic patients

Figures & data

Figure 1. Flow of participants through study.

Table I. Characteristics of patients with type 2 diabetes one year after diagnosis.

Variable	n	Prevalence (%) or median
Men (%)	606	52.2
Median age (years)	606	65.6
Age (years) in groups (%)
≤50		10.7
>50–60		22.8
>60–70		30.0
>70–80		28.1
>80		8.4
Cohabiting^1 (%)	601	69.5
Leisure-time physical activity^1 (%), low/moderate/high	599	27.1/65.8/7.2
Smoking habits^1 (%), current/previous/never	600	34.7/33.7/31.7
Self-rated health (%)	603
Very good		21.9
Good		44.0
Fair		31.0
Poor/very poor		3.2
Number of diabetes-related symptoms (%)	597
0		54.8
1		19.6
2		12.1
3–6		13.6
Type of diabetes-related symptoms (%)	597
Frequent urination		20.3
Abnormal thirst		11.4
Fatigue		25.5
Weight loss		5.5
Visual disturbances		13.1
Genital itching		9.6
Other symptoms		6.9
No symptoms		54.8
Median HbA1c^2 (fract., %)	483	7.8
HbA1c in groups (%)
≤7.4		39.1
>7.4–9.0		42.4
>9.0–11.0		14.9
>11		3.5
Median body mass index (weight kg)/(height m^2)	606	28.4
Body mass index in groups (%)
≤25		22.6
>25–30		40.6
>30–35		25.1
>35		11.7
Hypertension^3 (%)	606	50.3
Diabetic complications (%)
Ischaemic heart disease^1,4 (%)	606	14.4
Peripheral vascular disease^1 (%)	606	16.3
Peripheral neuropathy^1	600	18.8
Diabetic retinopathy (%)	551	4.5
Urinary albumin mg/ml (%),	602	57.3/38.4/4.3
< 15/≥ 15–< 200/≥ 200
Use of diuretics/oral hypoglycaemic agents/insulin (%)	587	38.7/41.7/1.0
Cancer, previous or current^1 (%)	601	6.3

Notes: 1Measured at time of diabetes diagnosis. ²Haemoglobin A_1c, reference range 5.4–7.4% (corresponding to 4.8–6.7% using a DCCT-aligned method). ³Hypertension: systolic/diastolic blood pressure >160/90 mm Hg or the use of antihypertensive or diuretic medication, or any combination of these. ⁴Ischaemic heart disease: angina pectoris or history of myocardial infarction causing hospitalization, or any combination of these.

Table II. Number of diabetes-related symptoms and their relation to sex, age, and haemoglobin A_1c in patients with type 2 diabetes one year after diagnosis.

	Number of symptoms
	0	1	2	3–6	p-value
Sex (%)					0.004
Men	189 (60.8)	52 (16.7)	33 (10.6)	37 (11.9)
Women	138 (48.3)	65 (22.7)	39 (13.6)	44 (15.4)
Age, years	64.7 (56.2–73.2)	66.1 (55.7–73.3)	69.6 (58.0–75.6)	64.1 (55.4–74.5)	0.67
HbA1c^1
(fract., %)	7.7 (7.0–8.6)	7.8 (7.0–8.6)	7.8 (7.3–8.3)	8.1 (7.2–9.3)	0.12

Notes: Values are numbers (%) or medians with interquartile range in parenthesis. P-values are from Kruskal–Wallis tests. ¹Haemoglobin A_1c, reference range 5.4–7.4% (corresponding to 4.8–6.7% using a DCCT-aligned method).

Table III. Relation between type 2 diabetic patients’ self-rated health one year after diagnosis and sex, age, haemoglobin A_1c, and symptoms.

	Self-rated health
	Very good	Good	Fair	Poor/very poor	p-value
Sex (%)					0.18^2
Men	73 (55.3)	142 (53.6)	89 (47.6)	10 (52.6)
Women	59 (44.7)	123 (46.4)	98 (52.4)	9 (47.4)
Age (years)	64.5 (55.8–73.6)	65.5 (56.2–73.9)	65.9 (55.9–73.5)	66.7 (56.4–74.8)	0.93^2
HbA1c^1 (fract., %)	7.4 (6.8–8.3)	7.8 (7.1–8.6)	7.8 (7.2–9.0)	8.8 (7.8–10.1)	0.001^2
Number of symptoms (%)
0	102 (77.3)	165 (62.2)	56 (29.9)	3 (15.8)	<0.001^3
1	13 (9.8)	55 (20.8)	45 (24.1)	3 (15.8)
2	8 (6.1)	27 (10.2)	34 (18.2)	3 (15.8)
3–6	7 (5.3)	14 (5.3)	50 (27.7)	10 (52.6)
Type of symptoms (%)
Frequent urination	15 (11.4)	41 (15.5)	54 (28.9)	10 (52.6)	<0.001
Abnormal thirst	6 (4.5)	17 (6.4)	37 (19.8)	8 (42.1)	<0.001
Fatigue	11 (8.3)	32 (12.1)	94 (51.9)	15 (79.0)	<0.001
Weight loss	0 (0.0)	13 (4.9)	18 (9.6)	2 (10.5)	<0.001
Visual disturbances	9 (6.8)	21 (7.9)	42 (22.5)	6 (31.6)	<0.001
Genital itching	6 (4.5)	20 (7.5)	26 (13.9)	5 (26.3)	<0.001
Other symptoms	3 (2.8)	11 (4.2)	24 (12.8)	3 (15.8)	<0.001
No symptoms	102 (77.3)	165 (62.2)	56 (29.9)	3 (15.8)	<0.001

Notes: Values are numbers (%) or medians (interquartile range). Unless otherwise stated Cochran–Armitage trend test is used. ¹Haemoglobin A_1c, reference range 5.4–7.4% (corresponding to 4.8–6.7% using a DCCT-aligned method). ²Kruskal–Wallis test. ³Mantel–Haenzel χ² test.

Figure 2. Illustration of the relationship between symptoms, SRH, and HbA_1c.