Time to Diagnosis and Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus among Korean Adults with Hyperglycemia: Using a Community-Based Cohort Study

Objectives: To identify the time from hyperglycemia to diabetes mellitus (DM) diagnosis and treatment, the risk factors for diabetes development, and the prevalence of comorbidities/complications in patients > 40 years of age. Methods: This secondary data analysis study used data from the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study. The participants comprised 186 patients who did not have diabetes at baseline, but developed hyperglycemia at the first follow-up. The average and median periods until DM diagnosis and treatment were calculated using Kaplan–Meier survival analysis. Results: Of the 186 participants, 57.0% were men and 35.5% were 40–49 years old. The average time to DM diagnosis and treatment was 10.87 years and 11.34 years, respectively. The risk factors for the duration of DM were current smoking, body mass index (BMI), fasting blood sugar (FBS), and postprandial 2-hour glucose (PP2). The risk factors for the duration of diabetes treatment were current smoking, hypertension, BMI, FBS, and PP2. The development of one or more comorbidities or diabetes complications was identified at the time of DM diagnosis (36.5%) and DM treatment (41.4%). Conclusions: As diabetes complications occur at the time of DM, and early treatment can impact the development of diabetes complications or mortality, it is necessary to establish a referral program so that participants presenting with high blood sugar levels in the screening program can be diagnosed and treated in a timely manner.