Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether younger patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus have higher glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels compared to older patients, and to determine the factors associated with higher HbA1c levels. METHODS: Data from 1,266 patients from all over Oman were used to obtain the mean HbA1c level, odds ratios (OR), and 95% confidence intervals (CI) from multiple logistic regression models with age groups, sex, duration of diabetes, diabetes treatment, body mass index, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), tobacco use, and healthcare index as predictors of good (HbA1c <7%) vs. poor (≥7%) glycemic control. RESULTS: Mean HbA1c levels were 8.9, 8.3, and 7.8 in the age groups 20-39, 40-59 and 60+ years, respectively. After controlling for all other covariates, the OR of good glycemic control increased with age, 40-59 years old (OR=1.7; 95% CI 1.1 to 2.6) and 60+ year (OR=2.5; 95% CI 1.6 to 4.0), female gender (OR=1.5; 95% CI 1.2 to 2.0) and in patients with eGFR ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (OR=1.9; 95% CI 1.1 to 3.3). Longer duration of diabetes (≥5 years) and treatment with oral agents or insulin were inversely related to good glycemic control. CONCLUSION: Younger Omani adults exhibit worse glycemic levels compared to older adults posing a formidable challenge to diabetes care teams.