The Medical Journal of Basrah University

Abstract

Background / Aims; Diabetic control is generally measured by HbA1C, the recent American Diabetic Association (ADA) guideline has put a target of <7.5%. The aim of this study is to assess the diabetic control in the study sample, based on their HbA1c, and to analyze the factors that may affect diabetic control.
Patients and Methods; This is a prospective questionnaire based cross sectional study. Parents/ patients or both filled in the questionnaire, which included demographic characteristics, parents’ educational level, insulin regimen and delivering device, duration of diabetes, number of injections, blood sugar monitoring/day, and hospital admissions related to diabetes, and the last the HbA1c.
Statistical analysis was done by SPSS version 24; ANOVA was used to asses correlation of HbA1c with different parameters, Chi-square tests were used to compare the categorical data between different groups of patients.
Results; A total of 163 patients were included in the study, 47.9% males and 51.2% females. The mean HbA1c was 10.3 3 ± 2.7. A total of 49 % of patients had a HbA1c ≥10, and 11% had a HbA1c of < 7.5. The HbA1c increased with age (p<0.001), and decreased with higher levels of mother’s education (p=0.03), and more blood sugar monitoring (p=0.003). Gender, residency, duration of diabetes, insulin regimen, number of injections /days, and hospital admissions had no significant affect.
Conclusion; Enhancing parent’s education and emphasizing on monitoring of the blood sugar, through reinforcing the role of diabetic educators, has a major impact on diabetic control