Patient factors and glycaemic control - associations and explanatory power

Diabet. Med. 29, e382-e389 (2012) ABSTRACT: Aims To investigate the association between glycaemic control and patient socio-demographics, activation level, diabetes-related distress, assessment of care, knowledge of target HbA(1c) , and self-management behaviours, and to determine to what extent these factors explain the variance in HbA(1c) in a large Danish population of patients with Type 2 diabetes. Methods Cross-sectional survey and record review of 2045 patients from a specialist diabetes clinic. Validated scales measured patient activation, self-management behaviours, diabetes-related emotional distress, and perceived care. The electronic patient record provided information about HbA(1c) , medication, body mass index, and duration of diabetes. Data were analysed using multiple linear regression models with stepwise addition of covariates. Results The response rate was 54% (n?=?1081). Good glycaemic control was significantly associated with older age, higher education, higher patient activation, lower diabetes-related emotional distress, better diet and exercise behaviours, lower body mass index, shorter duration of disease and knowledge of HbA(1c) targets (P?