HbA1c levels among Tertiary Health Care patients with type 2 Diabetes

Aim: To observe the levels of HbA1c in patients taking treatment for Diabetes Mellitus and to identify the diabetic patients at risk of developing complications of diabetes mellitus. Method: The total number of 100 subjects were included in this study. The sample for this study was a subset of database collected to determine the level of diabetes control in patients of type 2 DM and taking medication for the control of diabetes. Lab results of HbA1c of 100 diabetic patients attending Diabetic Clinic of Sheikh Zayed Hospital, Lahore were collected during January 2018, along with information related to patient's age and gender. HbA1c was performed on fully automated auto analyzer Dimension RXL, after calibration and quality control steps. Results of HbA1c were grouped according to gender that is male vs female and according to age that is less than60 years and above 60 years. Statistical analysis was done using the latest version of SPSS. Results: Mean HbA1c levels of 100 diabetic patients were found to be 8.13 +/- 1.55%. 63% of the patients showed HbA1c > 7% that is they are at higher risks of developing diabetic complications. The male patients were at 27.5% more risk of developing complications as compared to female patients. Conclusion: Out of 100 diabetic patients who were attending diabetic clinic, 63 % had uncontrolled diabetes having HbA1c of > 7.01% while only 37% patients had HbA1c < 7.01%. Thus it may be seen from these results that a majority of patients attending diabetic clinic for management of diabetes mellitus have uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and thus at a very high risk of developing diabetic complications