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Reported Knowledge of Recent HbA1c, Blood Pressure, and LDL-cholesterol Levels and Goals Among US Adults with
Bharat Poudel1, Ligong Chen2, Medha J Dubal1
1Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Background:
Guidelines recommend adults with diabetes should know their hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), blood pressure (BP), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol levels and goals.
Objective:
Determine the proportions of US adults with diabetes who report knowing their HbA1c, BP, and LDL-cholesterol levels and goals as recommended by their doctor or healthcare provider.
Design:
A cross-sectional analysis of the US adults with self-reported diabetes from 2011-2020 in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).
Participants:
US adults in NHANES with self-reported diabetes.
Main Measures:
Sociodemographic characteristics including age, sex, race and ethnicity, education, and health insurance coverage were assessed using standardized questionnaires. The outcomes were self-report of knowing HbA1c, BP, and LDL-cholesterol levels and goals. Age-sex-adjusted Poisson regression models with robust variance estimation were used to estimate associations of participant characteristics with each of these outcomes.
Results:
Among US adults with diabetes included in the analysis (N = 3,464), 58.3% (95% CI: 55.4%-61.2%), 68.3% (95% CI: 65.7%-70.7%) and 18.0% (95% CI: 16.3%-19.8%) reported knowing their recent HbA1c, BP, and LDL-cholesterol levels, respectively, and 53.4% (95% CI: 50.5%-56.2%), 39.7% (95% CI: 37.2%-42.3%), and 13.4% (95% CI: 11.5%-15.6%) reported knowing their HbA1c, BP, and LDL-cholesterol goals, respectively. Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic versus non-Hispanic White adults, those with less than versus at least a high school education, and those without versus with health insurance were less likely to report knowing their HbA1c, BP, or LDL-cholesterol levels and goals.
Conclusion:
Low percentages of US adults with diabetes reported knowing their HbA1c, BP, or LDL-cholesterol levels and goals. Understanding reasons for the gaps in knowledge among US adults with diabetes may facilitate interventions to increase risk factor awareness and diabetes self-management behaviors.
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