Table 3.
Characteristics of the patients with diabetes admitted to secondary health care outpatient clinics (n = 2,695) subdivided into those referred from the 14 PHCUs studied (n = 726) and those from other PHCUs (n = 1,969).
| Total | PHCUs studied | Other PHCUs | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sociodemographic data | ||||
| Sex (% women) | 61.9% | 62% | 61.9% | 0.156 |
| Race (% nonwhite) | 55.3% | 57.4% | 54.5% | 0.108 |
| Education level | 0.291 | |||
| Illiterate | 6.1% | 4.7% | 6.7% | |
| Incomplete elementary education | 61.6% | 64.2% | 60.6% | |
| Complete elementary education | 15.8% | 15.7% | 15.8% | |
| Complete secondary education | 13.8% | 12.7% | 14.3% | |
| Complete higher education | 1.9% | 2.2% | 1.8% | |
| Clinical data | ||||
| Sedentary lifestyle | 21.7% | 22.3% | 21.5% | 0.113 |
| Alcohol abuse | 13.7% | 12.5% | 14.1% | 0.562 |
| Current smoking | 9.0% | 9.4% | 8.8% | 0.433 |
| BMI (mean, kg/m2) | 31,00 | 31,04 | 30,91 | 0.670 |
| Controlled BP | 43.9% | 42.8% | 45.5% | 0.202 |
| Insulin use | 21% | 24.9% | 19.5% | 0.002 |
| Metformin use | 69% | 68.2% | 69.2% | 0.622 |
| Sulphonylurea use (%) | 41% | 37.3% | 42.1% | 0.027 |
| ACEI/ARB use (%) | 65% | 68.7% | 63.9% | 0.020 |
| Statin use (%) | 55% | 58.1% | 53.4% | 0.300 |
| Aspirin use (%) | 44% | 47.4% | 42.3% | 0.018 |
| Laboratory data | ||||
| HbA1c (mean, %) | 9.3 | 9.21 | 9.31 | 0.457 |
| LDL (mean, mg/dL) | 116 | 116,71 | 116.17 | 0.848 |
| eGFR (mean, mL/min) | 78 | 75.69 | 78.35 | 0.127 |
BMI: body mass index; BP: blood pressure; ACEI: angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB: angiotensin receptor blocker; HbA1c: glycated hemoglobin; LDL: LDL cholesterol; eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate (MDRD).