medwireNews: Data from the US NHANES surveys show no improvements in glycemic control over recent years, despite greater patient awareness of their test results and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) targets.
Among 2908 NHANES participants with diabetes, the proportion who reported at least one HbA1c test within the past year rose from 55.1% in the 2007–2008 survey to 77.8% in the 2013–2014 survey. The proportion who were aware of their most recent test result rose from 52.3% to 74.3%, and the proportion who knew their HbA1c target increased from 74.1% to 89.7%.
Reporting the findings in JAMA, Saeid Shahraz (Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA) and study co-authors suggest that individualization of treatment targets may have contributed to this increased awareness among patients.
But these marked improvements did not seem to result in better glycemic control, with the median HbA1c level being 6.90% and 6.95% in the earlier and later surveys, respectively. Likewise, there was no change in the proportion of patients with poor glycemic control (HbA1c >9%), at a corresponding 13.68% and 14.98%; moderate control (<8%), at 77.27% and 73.32%; or good control (<7%), at 55.24% and 54.42%.
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