Association of Patient and Geographic Variables in Pediatric Patients With Prediabetes Becoming Lost to Follow-up

Abstract

Introduction: Prediabetes (PD) is becoming more common, and management is complicated by high rates of loss to follow-up. We evaluated variables associated with lost to follow-up status for pediatric patients with PD referred to endocrinology for evaluation and management. Methods: We evaluated new patients referred to Children's of Alabama Endocrinology for PD from March 2017 through March 2021. Variables included patient medical and demographics as well as county-level metrics. Comparisons of patients who returned to clinic and those who were lost to follow-up were assessed by chi-square for categorical variables and Student's t-test/Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous normal/skewed variables, respectively. Univariate logistic regression modeling identified risk factors for coming lost to follow-up and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were reported with a 2-sided P-value for significance of