OBJECTIVE

To determine the pupillary parameters of adult patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) using the Reflex PLR© mobile application and to correlate these parameters with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1C) levels.

This was a single-center, prospective, observational, cross-sectional study conducted at Ospital ng Makati from June to August 2024. Study participants were patients with type 2 DM without diabetic retinopathy and non-diabetics who served as the control group. Participants underwent blood chemistry testing and pupillometry using the Reflex PLR© mobile app. The study outcomes were maximum and minimum pupillary diameters, amplitude, and latency.

There were 44 study participants: 26 non-diabetics and 18 diabetic patients. The two groups had similar pupillary baseline diameters (p = 0.72; p = 0.30), maximum pupillary diameters (p = 0.82; p = 0.89), minimum pupillary diameters (p = 0.85; p = 0.89), pupillary amplitudes (p = 0.88; p = 0.55), and pupillary latencies (p = 0.53; p = 0.47) for the right and left eyes, respectively. The relationship between pupillary parameters and HbA1C levels showed no significant variations in baseline diameter (p = 0.21; p = 0.45), maximum diameter (p = 0.65 for the right eye; p = 0.46 for the left eye), minimum diameter (p = 0.77; p = 0.46), amplitude (p = 0.89; p = 0.83), and latency (p = 0.31; p = 0.22).

The study did not demonstrate any significant correlation between pupillary parameters and HbA1C levels. Pupillary changes in diabetes may have been more dependent on factors such as disease duration and the presence of complications rather than glycemic control alone.

Objectives: The study aimed to identify whether pre-operative glycosylated hemoglobin level (HbA1c) and fasting blood sugar (FBS) can be used as markers for the development of acute kidney injury (AKI) in the immediate post-operative period of type 2 diabetic patients after elective abdominal surgery.

Methods: This retrospective cohort pilot study included seventy-four diabetic patients who underwent elective abdominal surgery from 2015 to 2018. HbA1c and FBS, demographic data, comorbidities, type and indication of surgery, and treatment history were correlated with the development of AKI using logistic regression analysis.

Results: In this cohort, 12% of subjects developed AKI. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis, however, showed that neither HbA1c and FBS nor other studied factors were predictive for the occurrence of AKI (OR 2.55, p= 0.26 and OR 0.64, p= 0.72 respectively).

Conclusion: Pre-operative HbA1c and one-time FBS values in diabetic patients undergoing elective abdominal surgery procedures were not statistically predictive of AKI in the present data. However, the observed trend towards the risk of AKI among the elevated HbA1c subset of patients should drive further studies with a greater sample size and of a prospective nature looking at other metabolic factors contributing to AKI.

hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) is a key biomarker for the monitoring of glycemic balance in patients with diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a new system, the Tosoh HLC-723 G11 analyzer (Tosoh Corporation, Japan), compared to that of two routine diagnostic testing systems, Tosoh G8 (Tosoh Corporation) and Capillarys 2 Flex Piercing (Sebia, France).METHODS: Tosoh G11 was evaluated for precision, linearity, and carry-over, according to the Clinical and Laboratory Standard Institute's guidelines. Test results from clinical samples were compared between Tosoh G11 and the routine testing systems, Tosoh G8 and Capillarys 2 Flex Piercing.RESULTS: With respect to the precision of Tosoh G11, the test results for low- and high-concentration controls showed a coefficient of variation of less than 1.1%. Furthermore, the new device exhibited good linearity for HbA(1c) values ranging from 3.4% to 18.8%, and carry-over was not observed. HbA(1c) results for Tosoh G11 (N=143) correlated well with those for Tosoh G8 (r=0.9971) and Capillarys 2 Flex Piercing (r=0.9918).CONCLUSIONS: Tosoh G11 demonstrated reliable analytical performance with good precision and linearity, and no carry-over results. In addition, its results were comparable to those of the existing instruments. Thus, the results of this evaluation suggest that Tosoh G11 is suitable for the routine diagnostic testing of HbA(1c) levels in clinical chemistry laboratories.]]>
Chemistry, Clinical ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans

BACKGROUND: We aimed to retrospectively analyze the efficacy of 10 mg dapagliflozin (DAPA), which is a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor, in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes who visited a primary diabetes clinic. METHODS: In total, 83 patients with type 2 diabetes, who received treatment with DAPA for the first time in a primary diabetes clinic between January 2015 and October 2015, were included in the study. The effect of DAPA in lowering glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels was evaluated via chart review at 6 months follow-up. The patients were categorized into five groups according to add-on to or switched from other glucose-lowering agents: add-on to metformin (MET, n=10), add-on to MET+dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor (DPP4i, n=12), switched from sulfonylurea (SU, n=13), switched from DPP4i (n=11), and switched from thiazolidinedione (TZD, n=37). All the participants had already used MET for their regimen. RESULTS: Treatment with DAPA reduced HbA1c level by 1.2%±0.8%. Moreover, a significant decrease was observed in all subgroups: add-on to MET, −1.2%±0.7%; add-on to MET+DPP4i, −1.4%±0.8%; switched from SU, −1.4%±0.7%; switched from DPP4i, −0.5%±0.7%; and switched from TZD, −1.2%±0.9% (P<0.01). A significant decrease in body weight (−3.1±2.6 kg, P<0.001) was observed after DAPA administration. Estimated glomerular filtration rate and urine microalbumin were significantly decreased after 6 months of treatment with DAPA (−4.0±13.5 mL/min/1.73 m2, P=0.03; −23.6±45.9 mg/L, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Treatment with DAPA, whether added to or switched from other glucose-lowering agents, significantly decreased HbA1c levels in Korean patients with type 2 diabetes who visited a single primary diabetes clinic. DAPA can be considered as an optimal second-line treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes, as supported by real-world evidence studies.
Body Weight ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Dipeptidyl-Peptidase IV Inhibitors ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Korea ; Metformin ; Primary Health Care ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) has been recommended as a diagnostic test for prediabetes and diabetes. Here, we evaluated the level of agreement between diagnoses based on fasting plasma glucose (FPG) versus HbA1c levels and determined optimal HbA1c cutoff values for these diseases in youth and young adults. METHODS: The study included 7,332 subjects (n=4,129, aged 10 to 19 years in youth group; and n=3,203 aged 20 to 29 years in young adult group) from the 2011 to 2016 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Prediabetes and diabetes were defined as 100 to 125 mg/dL (impaired fasting glucose [IFG]) and ≥126 mg/dL for FPG (diabetes mellitus [DM] by FPG [DMFPG]), and 5.7% to 6.4% and ≥6.5% for HbA1c, respectively. RESULTS: In the youth group, 32.5% with IFG had an HbA1c level of 5.7% to 6.4%, and 72.2% with DMFPG had an HbA1c ≥6.5%. In the young adult group, 27.5% with IFG had an HbA1c level of 5.7% to 6.4%, and 66.6% with DMFPG had an HbA1c ≥6.5%. Kappa coefficients for agreement between the FPG and HbA1c results were 0.12 for the youth group and 0.19 for the young adult group. In receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, the optimal HbA1c cutoff for IFG and DMFPG were 5.6% and 5.9% in youths and 5.5% and 5.8% in young adults, respectively. CONCLUSION: Usefulness of HbA1c for diagnosis of IFG and DMFPG in Koreans aged <30 years remains to be determined due to discrepancies between the results of glucose- and HbA1c-based tests. Additional testing might be warranted at lower HbA1c levels to detect IFG and DMFPG in this age group.
Adolescent ; Blood Glucose ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Korea ; Nutrition Surveys ; Plasma ; Prediabetic State ; ROC Curve ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: We investigated the predictive markers for the therapeutic efficacy and the best combination of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (empagliflozin, dapagliflozin, and ipragliflozin) therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: A total of 804 patients with T2DM who had taken SGLT2 inhibitor as monotherapy or an add-on therapy were analyzed. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to identify the predictors of SGLT2 inhibitor response including the classes of baseline anti-diabetic medications. RESULTS: After adjusting for age, sex, baseline body mass index (BMI), diabetes duration, duration of SGLT2 inhibitor use, initial glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and other anti-diabetic agent usage, multivariate analysis revealed that shorter diabetes duration, higher initial HbA1c and eGFR were associated with better glycemic response. However, baseline BMI was inversely correlated with glycemic status; lean subjects with well-controlled diabetes and obese subjects with inadequately controlled diabetes received more benefit from SGLT2 inhibitor treatment. In addition, dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitor use was related to a greater reduction in HbA1c in patients with higher baseline HbA1c ≥7%. Sulfonylurea users experienced a larger change from baseline HbA1c but the significance was lost after adjustment for covariates and metformin and thiazolidinedione use did not affect the glycemic outcome. CONCLUSION: A better response to SGLT2 inhibitors is expected in Korean T2DM patients who have higher baseline HbA1c and eGFR with a shorter diabetes duration. Moreover, the add-on of an SGLT2 inhibitor to a DPP4 inhibitor is likely to show the greatest glycemic response.
Blood Glucose ; Body Mass Index ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Metformin ; Multivariate Analysis

BACKGROUND: Continuous metabolic syndrome (MS) severity scores that can track metabolic risk in individuals over time have been developed for Western populations. The present study aimed to develop gender- and age-specific equations for MS severity scores in Korean adults. METHODS: Using data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES) IV (2010–2012) and VI (2013–2015), we performed a confirmatory factor analysis of single MS factor that allowed for differential loadings across groups to generate gender- and age-specific, continuous MS severity scores. Then, we validated this equation in a different dataset of Korean adults. RESULTS: In confirmatory analysis, waist circumference had the highest factor loading, indicating that waist circumference had the strongest correlation with MS among Korean adults. Lower factor loadings (< 0.4) among Korean adults aged 40–59 years were noted for systolic blood pressure and fasting glucose. MS severity score values were significantly correlated with metabolic parameters, including high-sensitivity C-reactive-protein, glycated hemoglobin, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. Furthermore, MS severity scores well predicted traditional MS according to receiver operating characteristic analysis in a validation dataset (KNHANES VII). In a longitudinal cohort dataset, participants diagnosed with Adult Treatment Program III (ATP-III) MS after an initial assessment had progressively higher baseline MS severity scores in relationship to their time until ATP-III MS diagnosis. CONCLUSION: The new MS severity score equations for Korean adults proposed in this study provide a clinically-accessible continuous measure of MS for potential use in identifying adults at higher risk for MS-related diseases and following changes within individuals over time.
Adult ; Blood Pressure ; Cohort Studies ; Dataset ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Fasting ; Glucose ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Korea ; Nutrition Surveys ; Obesity ; ROC Curve ; Waist Circumference

OBJECTIVE: Fatty liver is associated with insulin resistance-related diseases, such as dyslipidemia, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of dyslipidemia with fatty liver and assess the differences in these associations according to the degree of hepatic steatosis. METHODS: A total of 2,462 subjects (1,679 men and 783 women) who underwent a comprehensive health check-up (including abdominal computed tomography) from January 2010 to December 2013 were enrolled at Samsung Changwon Hospital Healthcare Center. The liver attenuation index (LAI), defined as the difference between mean hepatic and splenic attenuation, was used to assess the degree of hepatic steatosis. An LAI below 5 Hounsfield units was defined as fatty liver. RESULTS: We found that 32.2% of the study subjects had fatty liver. Serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG), and fasting blood glucose concentrations and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c percentage) were significant greater in the fatty liver group compared with the non-fatty liver group, while serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was significantly lower in the fatty liver group. Subjects with fatty liver had 1.7-fold greater risk of dyslipidemia than those without fatty liver after adjusting for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and HbA1c. When individuals with fatty liver were analyzed by tertiles of LAI values, LDL-C, TG, fasting glucose, BMI, and HbA1c concentrations increased while HDL-C decreased with decreasing LAI tertiles. Compared with LAI tertile 3, the risk for dyslipidemia significantly increased with adjusted odds ratios of 1.42, and 1.81 in tertiles 2 and 1, respectively. CONCLUSION: Fatty liver was significantly associated with dyslipidemia and this association varied according to the degree of hepatic steatosis.
Blood Glucose ; Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol ; Delivery of Health Care ; Dyslipidemias ; Fasting ; Fatty Liver ; Glucose ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Insulin ; Korea ; Lipoproteins ; Liver ; Male ; Obesity ; Odds Ratio ; Tomography, Spiral Computed ; Triglycerides

BACKGROUND: We assessed the frequency and severity of hypoglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients treated with sulfonylurea monotherapy or sulfonylurea+metformin. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, observational, cross-sectional study in 2011 and 2012 including patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus aged ≥30 years who were treated with ≥6 months of sulfonylurea monotherapy or sulfonylurea+metformin at 20 university-affiliated hospitals in Korea. At enrollment, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was assessed; participants completed self-reported questionnaires describing hypoglycemia incidents over the past 6 months. A review of medical records up to 12 months before enrollment provided data on demographics, disease history, comorbidities, laboratory results, and drug usage. RESULTS: Of 726 enrolled patients, 719 were included (55.6% male); 31.7% and 68.3% were on sulfonylurea monotherapy and sulfonylurea+metformin, respectively. Mean±standard deviation age was 65.9±10.0 years; mean HbA1c level was 7.0%±1.0%; 77.8% of patients had hypertension (89.4% used antihypertensive medication); 60.5% had lipid disorders (72.5% used lipid-lowering medication); and 52.0% had one or more micro- or macrovascular diseases. Among patients with A1c measurement (n=717), 56.4% achieved therapeutic goals (HbA1c <7.0%); 42.4% (305/719) experienced hypoglycemia within 6 months of enrollment; and 38.8%, 12.9%, 12.7%, and 3.9% of patients experienced mild, moderate, severe, and very severe hypoglycemia symptoms, respectively. Several reported hypoglycemia frequency as 1–2 times over the last 6 months. The mean number of very severe hypoglycemia episodes was 3.5±5.5. CONCLUSION: Among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients treated with sulfonylurea-based regimens, glycemic levels were relatively well controlled but hypoglycemia remained a prevalent side effect.
Comorbidity ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Demography ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypoglycemia ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Metformin ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Early detection of vascular change may improve prediction of subclinical stage of cardiovascular disease, allowing intervention to prevent overt vascular damage. High heart rate is known to increase cardiovascular morbidity and mortality rate in the general population and in individuals with cardiovascular disease. We aimed to investigate the association between resting heart rate (RHR) measured using electrocardiogram (ECG) and arterial stiffness measured using the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) in men. METHODS: Data were collected from 5,629 men aged between 20 and 78 years who visited a single-site health promotion center. RHR was measured in a supine posture after resting for 10 minutes using an ECG. Arterial stiffness was measured using the CAVI. The cutoff value for high CAVI was ≥9.0. RESULTS: RHR was one of the major determinants of high CAVI after adjusting for age, waist circumference, mean arterial pressure, glycosylated hemoglobin level, triglyceride level, white blood cell count, and lifestyle factors. When RHR groups were defined according to the RHR quartiles, the odds ratio of group with RHR ≥70 bpm, for high CAVI was 3.62 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.21–5.91) after adjusting for age and lifestyle factors. This association was not changed after adjusting for all other covariates (odds ratio, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.36–4.19). CONCLUSIONS: RHR measured using ECG is significantly associated with arterial stiffness in men not taking medications for hypertension, dyslipidemia, or diabetes. These findings suggest that RHR may be useful in assessing cardiovascular risk in men.
Arterial Pressure ; Arteriosclerosis ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Dyslipidemias ; Electrocardiography ; Health Promotion ; Heart Rate ; Heart ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Leukocyte Count ; Life Style ; Male ; Mortality ; Odds Ratio ; Posture ; Risk Assessment ; Triglycerides ; Vascular Stiffness ; Waist Circumference