ABSTRACT
We aimed to retrospectively review the incidence of pre-diabetes mellitus (preDM), one of the factors in metabolic syndrome screening, in patients with rheumatic diseases. We examined the levels of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in a total of 498 patients with rheumatic diseases between April 2007 and March 2008 at the Department of Rheumatology in Nagasaki University Hospital. Of the 498 patients, 409 (82.1%) had HbA1c levels higher than 5.6% (National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program; NGSP) and were recommended for health guidance with a focus on metabolic syndrome. Serum HbA1c levels higher than 6.0%, a possible indicator of DM, were seen in 227 patients (45.6%). Serum HbA1c levels higher than 6.5%, which constitute a high risk for DM, were found in 115 patients (23.1%). PreDM increased gradually with age. Our results suggest that the incidence of preDM may be higher in patients with rheumatic diseases than in patients with other diseases and that these patients should receive healthcare guidance to prevent metabolic syndrome.
