Ethnic differences in prevalence of actionable HbA1c levels in UK Biobank: Implications for screening

Jana J. Anderson, Paul Welsh, Frederick K. Ho, Lyn D. Ferguson, Claire E. Welsh, Pierpaolo Pellicori, John G.F. Cleland, John Forbes, Stamatina Iliodromiti, James Boyle, Robert Lindsay, Carlos Celis-Morales, Stuart Robert Gray, Srinivasa Vittal Katikireddi, Jason Martin Regnald Gill, Jill P. Pell, Naveed Sattar

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Introduction Early detection and treatment of diabetes as well as its prevention help lessen longer-term complications. We determined the prevalence of pre-diabetes and undiagnosed diabetes in the UK Biobank and standardized the results to the UK general population. Research design and methods This cross-sectional study analyzed baseline UK Biobank data on plasma glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) to compare the prevalence of pre-diabetes and undiagnosed diabetes mellitus in white, South Asian, black, and Chinese participants. The overall and ethnic-specific results were standardized to the UK general population aged 40-70 years of age. Results Within the UK Biobank, the overall crude prevalence was 3.6% for pre-diabetes, 0.8% for undiagnosed diabetes, and 4.4% for either. Following standardization to the UK general population, the results were similar at 3.8%, 0.8%, and 4.7%, respectively. Crude prevalence was much higher in South Asian (11.0% pre-diabetes; 3.6% undiagnosed diabetes; 14.6% either) or black (13.8% pre-diabetes; 3.0% undiagnosed diabetes; 16.8% either) participants. Only six middle-aged or old-aged South Asian individuals or seven black would need to be tested to identify an HbA1c result that merits action. Conclusions Single-stage population screening for pre-diabetes or undiagnosed diabetes in middle-old or old-aged South Asian and black individuals using HbA1c could be efficient and should be considered.

Original languageEnglish
Article number002176
JournalBMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care
Volume9
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Aug 2021

Keywords

  • diabetes mellitus
  • early diagnosis
  • ethnic groups
  • glycated hemoglobin A
  • type 2

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