Clinical Diabetes Care of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes at a Major Tertiary Care Hospital in the United Arab Emirates

Abstract

Aim: The prevalence of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is rapidly increasing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), resulting in a huge burden on the healthcare economy of the country. Therefore, improvement in the standards of diabetes care is required to prevent the complications of diabetes. This study evaluated the adherence of a tertiary care hospital of the UAE to the international standards of diabetes care in order to provide clinicians with information for improving diabetes care in clinical setting. Materials and methods: A retrospective analysis of 5% (n=240) of 4800 diabetic patients visiting the clinics was conducted in a tertiary care hospital of Al Ain, UAE. The data were collected on demographic characteristics (age, gender) and 12 clinical indicators of standards of diabetes care as per American Diabetic Association (ADA) guidelines. Chi-square tests were applied to compare standards of diabetes care with CDC targets. Independent t-tests and one way ANOVA were applied to measure difference in HbA1c by gender and age groups respectively. Results: Of the total 240 patients, majority were females (58.3%) and 50-65years old (53.5%). About 63.0% of patients were obese and 56.2% had HbA1c above 7. Hospital significantly exceeded the CDC targets in blood glucose (95.0%, p=0.00), HbA1c monitoring (98.0%, p=0.00), ±detailed eye examination (77.0%, p=0.001) and blood pressure control (57.0%, p=0.39). However, the hospital significantly fell below the target of achieving HbA1c <7(38.0%, p=0.00) and foot examination (59.0%, p=0.006). Poor diabetes control (HbA1c >7) was significantly (p=0.007) associated with obesity. The proportion of poor diabetes control was slightly higher (p=0.421) in patients >60years and females (p=0.603). Conclusion: The study highlighted the importance of adhering to diabetes care standards of ADA. Diabetes care could be further improved with more effort from diabetes care team, managing obesity and by improving patients’ education and self-care.