Glycemic Control of Turkish Adult Diabetic Patients

Objective: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study to determine the level of glycemic control and other characteristics in adult Turkish patients with diabetes mellitus, who were already receiving treatment. Materials and Methods: A total of 2358 adult diabetic patients that had been on treatment for at least 3 months and followed in 44 different centers spread throughout Turkey were recruited in the study. Glycemic control was determined by glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels using the "A1cNow (R)" test kit (Metrika Inc. USA) to obtain standard measurements in all centers. Results: The majority of patients had type 2 diabetes (93.9%). The mean age was 55.7 +/- 12.1 years. Patients had been diagnosed with diabetes for 9.1 +/- 7.2 years, and they were on treatment for 6.9 +/- 6.3 years. In total, 69% of the patients had HbA1c >= 7%, and the mean HbA1c level was 8.0 +/- 2.0%. There was no significant difference between male and female patients regarding glycemic control. Of all the patients, 42.7% were obese and 39.7% were overweight. Dyslipidemia and hypertension were present in 76.9% and 88.3% of the patients, respectively. Conclusions: Diabetes control is insufficient in Turkish patients, and improvements in the current diabetes care standards are needed.