The Effect of the Change in the Definition of Type 2 Diabetes on Patient Demographics

In 1998 the definition of type 2 diabetes was revised, in particular the fasting plasma glucose (fpg) diagnostic level was lowered from 7.8 mmol/l to 7.0 mmol/l. the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of this change on patient demographics. materials & methods: we reviewed data from1700 type 2 diabetes patients, who attended the st. paul’s hospital diabetes teaching and trainingcentre before (group 1) and after (group 2) the definition change. demographical data from a baseline and follow-up were analyzed. the frequencies of patients in groups and cohorts <60 years of age and ≥60 years of age were calculated and hba1c data was analyzed. results: compared to group 1, group 2 was younger, had a significantly lower mean hba1c level (7.3% vs 8.1%, p<0.0001), blood pressure (127/78 vs 133/82 mmhg, p<0.05) and cholesterol (5.2 vs 5.5 mmol, p<0.05) and was more often treated with multiple medications (p<0.001). patients in group 2 were significantly more likelyto meet the target hba1c level of 7.0% than patients in group 1 (p<0.0001). it was also found that at baseline, patients ≥60 years old in group 2 had significantly lower hba1c values than those <60 years old (p<0.001). conclusion: since the change in the definition of type 2 diabetes, a greater frequency of patients presented with lower mean hba1c values and met target hba1c levels. patients ≥60 years oldinitially presented with lower hba1c levels than those <60 years old.