ABSTRACT
Aims: The aim of the study was to re-evaluate the relationship between hospital based diabetes care delivery and prevention of complications. Methods: DiabCare is an observational, non-interventional, cross-sectional study of hospital-based outpatient diabetes care. Results: A total of 1668 patients participated in the study: mean age 57.8 ± 11.0 years, duration of diabetes 13.0 ± 8.6 years, and duration of insulin treatment 5.6 ± 5.5 years. Mean weight was 74.3 ± 16.6 kg (BMI 29.1 ± 5.8 kg/m2). The majority of patients were female (53.6%) and the largest ethnic group was Malay (51.3%), followed by Indian (21.9%) and Chinese (20.1%). The percentage of patients with HbA1c < 6.5% (< 42 mmol/mol) and < 7.0% (< 53 mmol/mol) was 12.2% and 23.8%, respectively (mean HbA1c 8.52 ± 2.01% [70 ± 22 mmol/mol]). The proportion of patients using insulin was 65% at a total daily dose of 60 ± 37 IU. One or more episodes of hypoglycaemia were reported by 39% (n=658) of patients within the previous three months. The risk of any hypoglycaemia was associated with the use of insulin (odds ratio [OR 3.26, 95% CI 2.59–4.09]), and total daily insulin dose (OR 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.07 per 10 IU increase). Mean HbA1c had not changed significantly between DiabCare cohorts 2008 and 2013 (p=0.08). Conclusions: Despite evidence of improving processes of diabetes care, glycaemic control and the prevalence of many diabetes related complications were unchanged.