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Diabetes risk in British adults in mid life: a national prevalence study of glycated haemoglobin
Author(s) -
Thomas C.,
Hyppönen E.,
Power C.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
diabetic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.474
H-Index - 145
eISSN - 1464-5491
pISSN - 0742-3071
DOI - 10.1111/j.1464-5491.2006.02055.x
Subject(s) - medicine , demography , diabetes mellitus , population , cohort , subclinical infection , glycated haemoglobin , cohort study , type 2 diabetes , gerontology , environmental health , endocrinology , sociology
Aims Information on the population at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in the UK is scarce. We used data from the 1958 British birth cohort to estimate geographical and socio‐economic variations in HbA 1c in mid life. Methods Participants ( n = 7799) born in England, Scotland and Wales and currently living in the UK. Individuals were classified according to the presence of Type 2 diabetes and by thresholds of HbA 1c . HbA 1c ≥ 5.5 was used as an indicator for possible subclinical alterations in glucose metabolism. Results The majority of the population had HbA 1c < 5.5% (79.3%); 16.7% had HbA 1c 5.5–5.9%, 2.0% 6.0–6.9% and 0.6% had HbA 1c ≥ 7.0%. Individuals from manual socio‐economic groups and those living in the East of England and Scotland had a higher prevalence of HbA 1c at or above the upper normal range (5.5%). Conclusions Estimates from this nationwide sample suggest that a proportion of Britons are likely to have subclinical alterations in glucose metabolism by their mid 40s, and this proportion is greater in some socio‐economic groups and geographical regions than in others.