Diabetes risk in British adults in mid life: a national prevalence study of glycated haemoglobin.
OBJECTIVE
Information on the population at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in the UK is scarce. We used data from the 1958 British birth cohort to estimate geographical and socio-economic variations in HbA(1c) in mid life.


METHODS
Participants (n = 7799) born in England, Scotland and Wales and currently living in the UK. Individuals were classified according to the presence of Type 2 diabetes and by thresholds of HbA(1c). HbA(1c)> or = 5.5 was used as an indicator for possible subclinical alterations in glucose metabolism.


RESULTS
The majority of the population had HbA(1c) < 5.5% (79.3%); 16.7% had HbA(1c) 5.5-5.9%, 2.0% 6.0-6.9% and 0.6% had HbA(1c)> or = 7.0%. Individuals from manual socio-economic groups and those living in the East of England and Scotland had a higher prevalence of HbA(1c) at or above the upper normal range (5.5%).


CONCLUSIONS
Estimates from this nationwide sample suggest that a proportion of Britons are likely to have subclinical alterations in glucose metabolism by their mid 40s, and this proportion is greater in some socio-economic groups and geographical regions than in others.
Thomas
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C
Centre for Paediatric Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK. c.thomas@ich.ucl.ac.uk
Hyppönen
E
E
Power
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C
D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
D006442:Glycated Hemoglobin