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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 (P0.05): 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. |
