Table 1.
Clinical and Demographic Characteristics of the Randomized Patients
| Patient Characteristic | Control (N = 70) | Intervention (N = 57) | Control–Intervention Difference P Value* | Dropped Out (N = 37) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, y | ||||
| Geometric mean | 51 | 54 | .87 | 52 |
| Range | 20 to 91 | 32 to 83 | 29 to 78 | |
| Gender, n (%) | >.99 | |||
| Female | 37 (53) | 31 (54) | 22 (59) | |
| Male | 33 (47) | 26 (46) | 15 (41) | |
| Treatment modality, n (%) | .44 | |||
| Non-insulin–based therapy | 51 (73) | 37 (65) | 25 (66) | |
| Insulin-containing therapy | 19 (27) | 20 (35) | 12 (32) | |
| Entry GHb, % | ||||
| Geometric mean | 8.2 | 8.7 | .16 | 8.4 |
| Range | 5.4 to 13.0 | 5.0 to 14.0 | 5.9 to 13.5 | |
| Diabetes educator visits, 1998, n (%) | .35 | |||
| No visits | 50 (71) | 46 (81) | ||
| 1–5 | 20 (29) | 11 (19) | ||
| Comorbid conditions†, n (%) | >.99 | |||
| Major psychiatric diagnoses | 19 (33) | 17 (39) | 7 (29) | |
| Alcoholism | 6 (10) | 6 (14) | 3 (13) | |
| Insurance, n (%) | .32 | |||
| Medicare/Medicaid | 41 (59) | 34 (60) | 22 (59) | |
| None | 21 (30) | 12 (21) | 7 (19) | |
| Private | 8 (11) | 11 (19) | 8 (22) | |
| Ethnic background, n (%) | .60 | |||
| European American | 27 (39) | 23 (40) | 10 (27) | |
| African American | 20 (29) | 20 (35) | 15 (41) | |
| Recent immigrant | 15 (21) | 7 (12) | 8 (22) | |
| Native American | 4 (6) | 2 (4) | 1 (3) | |
| Other/unknown | 4 (6) | 5 (9) | 3 (8) |
*
P values for group comparisons of continuous data (age, entry GHb) result from nonparametric analysis (Mann-Whitney); of categorical data in 2 × 2 format (gender, treatment modality, visits, comorbid conditions) from Fisher's exact test; and of categorical data with multiple variables (insurance, ethnic background) from χ2 analysis.
†
Variable n due to unavailable clinic charts: control (n = 58), intervention (n = 43), dropped out (n = 24).
GHb, glycosylated hemoglobin.