Five-year comparison of diabetic control between community diabetic center and primary health-care centers

CONTEXT: Hyperglycemia is the most important factor for development of complications. A high level of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is linked with such complications of diabetes. AIMS: The aim of this study was to compare diabetic care between community diabetic center (CDC) and primary health centers. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort study conducted at King Abdulaziz Medical City for National Guard Health Affairs at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Data were retrieved from electronic medical records for diabetes mellitus Type 2 patients who were treated at two settings: CDCs and primary healthcare. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: SPSS (V21) was used to analyze the univariate and bivariate analysis, Student's t-test for continuous variables and Chi-square test for binary variables were used. P value was set as statistically significant if it is <0.05. RESULTS: The mean difference for HbA1c from first to last visits increased significantly +0.2 ± 1.67 with P = 0.002 while the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) on the other way around improved by decrease of −0.159 ± 0.74 and P < 0.000. Body mass index (BMI) among the sample increased by +0.134 ± 1.57 with no significant, P = 0.078. Among the sample, 39.5% improved their HbA1c while 56.8% deteriorated and 3.6% of the samples’ readings remain the same. 55.3% of the sample improved in LDL and 52.4% in the high-density lipoprotein while 53.7% improved in triglycerides. The BMI was improved among 43.4% of diabetic patients. CONCLUSIONS: The 5-year management of diabetic patients failed to improve the A1c or BMI, at both CDC and primary health-care centers.