Risk-based prediabetes screening in a rural general practice - oral glucose tolerance test or glycated hemoglobin?

Abstract

Introduction and aim: The aim of this study was to implement a two-stage diabetes screening programme in a severely disadvantaged municipality. In the first stage, diabetes risk assessment was carried out in the 18 to 75 age group, followed by screening of the high risk population for potential carbohydrate metabolism disorders using laboratory tests. Method: Stage 1: assessment of diabetes risk with the FINDRISC questionnaire; Stage 2: identification of carbohydrate metabolism status by oral glucose tolerance test and glycated haemoglobin test in patients with elevated or high risk of diabetes. Results: 406 individuals completed the FINDRISC questionnaire. Elevated or high risk for diabetes was confirmed in 129 individuals (31.77%). There was significant correlation between increased risk and age (p<0.001) and between increased risk and body mass index (p<0.001). Based on the oral glucose tolerance test, 28.3% and 9.43% of the patients were diagnosed with pre-diabetes and diabetes mellitus, respectively. According to the glycated haemoglobin test, the incidences of prediabetes and diabetes were 50.94% and 11.32%, respectively. The strongest predictors of prediabetes/diabetes mellitus was the age (p = 0.047). The correlation between prediabetes/diabetes mellitus and smoking (p = 0.635) and physical activity (p = 0.975) was the weakest. The results showed that the glycated hemoglobin value increased by mean 0.2% by metabolic syndromes patients. Conclusions: Our results highlight the necessity for improving preventative care. Based on the risks of significant mortality and disability due to diabetes, prevention and early diagnosis must be prioritised in primary care. In addition to the oral glucose tolerance test, measurement of glycated haemoglobin is also indicated, while keeping in mind the limitations of its diagnostic value. Evaluating for glycated hemoglobin results, it is also worth looking for the presence of metabolic syndrome. Orv Hetil. 2019; 160(50): 1976-1983.