Table 1.
Baseline patient characteristics according to the glycosylated hemoglobin categories.
| Baseline HbA1c | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | <48 mmol/mol | 48-53 mmol/mol | 53-58 mmol/mol | 58-64 mmol/mol | 64-69 mmol/mol | ≥69 mmol/mol | ||
| <6.5% | 6.5–7% | 7–7.5% | 7.5–8% | 8–8.5% | ≥8.5% | |||
| (n = 3099) | (n = 687) | (n = 589) | (n = 506) | (n = 369) | (n = 300) | (n = 648) | p ∗ | |
| Age (years) | 64.67 ± 6.60 | 65.10 ± 6.92 | 65.16 ± 6.22 | 65.25 ± 6.34 | 64.48 ± 6.88 | 64.93 ± 5.91 | 63.29 ± 6.77 | <0.001 |
| Sex, male n (%) | 2649 (85.48) | 631 (91.85) | 502 (85.23) | 429 (84.78) | 313 (84.82) | 250 (83.33) | 524 (80.86) | <0.001 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 25.04 ± 3.20 | 24.78 ± 3.13 | 24.97 ± 3.28 | 25.26 ± 2.94 | 25.02 ± 3.12 | 25.27 ± 3.72 | 25.07 ± 3.19 | 0.176 |
| HbA1c (mmol/mol) | 58.68 ± 16.07 | 41.74 ± 3.94 | 49.72 ± 1.53 | 55.07 ± 1.53 | 60.65 ± 1.53 | 66.00 ± 1.53 | 83.27 ± 13.77 | <0.001 |
| HbA1c (%) | 7.52 ± 1.47 | 5.97 ± 0.36 | 6.70 ± 0.14 | 7.19 ± 0.14 | 7.70 ± 0.14 | 8.19 ± 0.14 | 9.77 ± 1.26 | <0.001 |
| SBP (mmHg) | 129.11 ± 16.93 | 128.52 ± 17.50 | 128.95 ± 16.40 | 130.00 ± 17.10 | 127.66 ± 15.36 | 130.79 ± 17.19 | 129.23 ± 17.35 | 0.449 |
| DBP (mmHg) | 74.14 ± 10.15 | 74.25 ± 10.12 | 73.71 ± 9.34 | 74.25 ± 10.32 | 72.97 ± 10.08 | 74.02 ± 10.28 | 74.96 ± 10.60 | 0.268 |
| HDL cholesterol (mmol/L) Ta: |
1.18 ± 0.34 | 1.22 ± 0.34 a |
1.19 ± 0.36 a |
1.19 ± 0.35 ab |
1.16 ± 0.35 ab |
1.19 ± 0.32 ab |
1.13 ± 0.31 b |
<0.001 |
| LDL cholesterol (mmol/L) | 2.61 ± 0.76 | 2.56 ± 0.76 | 2.63 ± 0.74 | 2.57 ± 0.76 | 2.67 ± 0.68 | 2.59 ± 0.78 | 2.67 ± 0.80 | 0.016 |
| Triglyceride (mmol/L) Ta: |
4.17 ± 3.30 | 4.00 ± 3.16 b |
4.04 ± 2.92 ab |
3.92 ± 2.35 b |
4.19 ± 2.54 ab |
4.34 ± 3.44 ab |
4.56 ± 4.45 a |
0.001 |
| Creatinine (μmol/L) Ta: |
87.52 ± 23.87 | 88.40 ± 22.10 ab |
90.17 ± 27.40 a |
87.52 ± 22.98 ab |
85.75 ± 22.10 ab |
85.75 ± 21.22 ab |
84.86 ± 23.87 b |
0.001 |
| Uric acid (μmol/L) Ta: |
312.30 ± 86.25 | 324.19 ± 87.44 a |
317.65 ± 91.01 ab |
311.11 ± 82.68 ab |
308.73 ± 81.49 ab |
300.40 ± 81.49 b |
302.18 ± 86.85 b |
<0.001 |
| Albuminuria, n (%) | <0.001 | |||||||
| Normal to mildly increased | 2634 (85.00) | 614 (89.37) | 509 (86.42) | 445 (87.94) | 312 (84.55) | 250 (83.33) | 504 (77.78) | |
| Moderately increased | 411 (13.26) | 68 (9.90) | 71 (12.05) | 58 (11.46) | 52 (14.09) | 44 (14.67) | 118 (18.21) | |
| Severely increased | 54 (1.74) | 5 (0.73) | 9 (1.53) | 3 (0.59) | 5 (1.36) | 6 (2.00) | 26 (4.01) | |
| Stage of CKD, n (%) | 0.633 | |||||||
| Stage 1–2 (eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) | 2687 (86.71) | 595 (86.61) | 495 (84.04) | 446 (88.14) | 326 (88.35) | 260 (86.67) | 565 (87.19) | |
| Stage 3 (eGFR 30–60 mL/min/1.73 m2) | 400 (12.90) | 90 (13.10) | 90 (15.28) | 58 (11.46) | 41 (11.11) | 40 (13.33) | 81 (12.50) | |
| Stage 4 (eGFR 15–30 mL/min/1.73 m2) | 12 (0.39) | 2 (0.29) | 4 (0.68) | 2 (0.40) | 2 (0.54) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.31) | |
| Comorbidities | ||||||||
| Hypertension, n (%) | 2593 (83.67) | 573 (83.41) | 486 (82.51) | 425 (83.99) | 298 (80.76) | 247 (82.33) | 564 (87.04) | 0.121 |
| Hypercholesterolemia, n (%) | 2474 (79.83) | 532 (77.44) | 475 (80.65) | 390 (77.08) | 299 (81.03) | 244 (81.33) | 534 (82.41) | 0.131 |
| Coronary heart disease, n (%) | 1509 (48.69) | 349 (50.80) | 287 (48.73) | 237 (46.84) | 167 (45.26) | 138 (46.00) | 331 (51.08) | 0.305 |
| Congestive heart failure, n (%) | 380 (12.26) | 92 (13.39) | 67 (11.38) | 53 (10.47) | 39 (10.57) | 43 (14.33) | 86 (13.27) | 0.353 |
| Cerebrovascular disease, n (%) | 697 (22.49) | 171 (24.89) | 128 (21.73) | 121 (23.91) | 75 (20.33) | 62 (20.67) | 140 (21.60) | 0.427 |
| Medication | ||||||||
| Statin, n (%) | 1576 (50.86) | 329 (47.89) | 303 (51.44) | 251 (49.60) | 202 (54.74) | 158 (52.67) | 333 (51.39) | 0.356 |
| Antihypertensive | ||||||||
| ACE inhibitor/ARB, n (%) | 1826 (58.92) | 398 (57.93) | 346 (58.74) | 297 (58.70) | 206 (55.83) | 181 (60.33) | 398 (61.42) | 0.597 |
| Beta blocker, n (%) | 668 (21.56) | 157 (22.85) | 145 (24.62) | 98 (19.37) | 77 (20.87) | 61 (20.33) | 130 (20.06) | 0.252 |
| Calcium channel blocker, n (%) | 986 (31.82) | 259 (37.70) | 192 (32.60) | 168 (33.20) | 103 (27.91) | 90 (30.00) | 174 (26.85) | 0.001 |
| Diuretics, n (%) | 976 (31.49) | 232 (33.77) | 187 (31.75) | 151 (29.84) | 115 (31.17) | 86 (28.67) | 205 (31.64) | 0.632 |
| Glucose-lowering drugs | ||||||||
| Insulin, n (%) | 401 (12.94) | 29 (4.22) | 51 (8.66) | 60 (11.86) | 41 (11.11) | 55 (18.33) | 165 (25.46) | <0.001 |
| Metformin, n (%) | 2265 (73.09) | 486 (70.74) | 402 (68.25) | 360 (71.15) | 284 (76.96) | 222 (74.00) | 511 (78.86) | <0.001 |
| Sulfonylurea, n (%) | 2224 (71.77) | 484 (70.45) | 392 (66.55) | 382 (75.49) | 293 (79.40) | 226 (75.33) | 447 (68.98) | <0.001 |
| Alpha-glucosidase inhibitor (voglibose), n (%) | 440 (14.20) | 94 (13.68) | 65 (11.04) | 66 (13.04) | 67 (18.16) | 43 (14.33) | 105 (16.20) | 0.029 |
| Thiazolidinedione (actos), n (%) | 249 (8.03) | 45 (6.55) | 47 (7.98) | 43 (8.50) | 33 (8.94) | 25 (8.33) | 56 (8.64) | 0.705 |
| Nateglinide (fastic), n (%) | 132 (4.26) | 34 (4.95) | 40 (6.79) | 15 (2.96) | 18 (4.88) | 9 (3.00) | 16 (2.47) | 0.002 |
∗ p value: categorical data were analyzed using Fisher's test or the Chi-square test; continuous data were analyzed using ANOVA; if p < 0.05 in ANOVA, post hoc analysis was performed using Tukey's test. Ta: the same letters indicate nonspecific difference between groups based on Tukey's test. Abbreviations: HbA1c: glycated hemoglobin; eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate; SBP: systolic blood pressure; DBP: diastolic blood pressure; CKD: chronic kidney disease; ACE: angiotensin-converting enzyme; LDL: low-density lipoprotein; HDL: high-density lipoprotein.