Title: Comparison of Glycated Haemoglobin (HbA1c) Levels among Urban and Rural Diabetic Mellitus Patients
Authors: Suma.H.R, Kavita P Rasalkar, Uzma Anjum, Sanjay Reddy A C, Ramya Raghavan, P Nagaraj Sharma
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v5i8.76
Abstract
Introduction: India, the ‘Diabetic Capital of the world’, with all the genetic predisposition, diversity of culture and socioeconomic status, it is very important to know the distribution, the prevalence & complications of diabetes mellitus. It is also very important to have an indicator to monitor the disease burden on the society so that the government can focus on the appropriate resource allocation& implementation of various measures to reduce the disease burden on the society & the patient. Glycated haemoglobin-HbA1c has been proven to be the best indicator of long term glycemic control. It has also been observed to be useful to assess the risk of developing vascular complications and death in diabetic patients. In this study the distribution of patients with diabetes is compared among urban & rural patients based on the HbA1c levels to assess the burden of the disease & its complication on these two societies with socioeconomic diversity.
Objectives: To categorize the patients attending diabetic clinic into four categories based on HbA1c levels.
To study the distribution of the urban & rural patients based on these categories with respect to number, age and sex.
Materials & Methods: The Diabetes Mellitus patients were grouped into four different categories based on their HbA1c levels in both urban & rural study population. The distribution of the patients in different groups among the urban & rural population is compared & studied to assess the burden of the disease with micro & macrovascular complications on these two different societies.
Results & Conclusion: In Group III the Patients with high HbA1c are almost two folds more among rural population when compared to urban population and in Group IV the Patients with high HbA1c are almost ten folds more among rural population when compared to urban population. Identification of the factors which may be influencing these populations - is necessary to facilitate change when facing health challenges. There is an immediate need for implementing preventive measures to bring down the high morbidity and mortality and also to decrease the cost burden to the patients and to the society.
Keywords: HbA1c, Diabetes mellitus, Distribution among urban & rural population, Micro & Macrovascular complications.
