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. 2022 Nov 3:10:1005369.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1005369. eCollection 2022.

Differences in health behavior and nutrient intake status between diabetes-aware and unaware Korean adults based on the Korea national health and nutrition examination survey 2016-18 data: A cross-sectional study

Anshul Sharma  1 , Chen Lulu  1 , Kee-Ho Song  2 , Hae-Jeung Lee  1   3   4
Affiliations

Differences in health behavior and nutrient intake status between diabetes-aware and unaware Korean adults based on the Korea national health and nutrition examination survey 2016-18 data: A cross-sectional study

Anshul Sharma et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the nutritional intakes and treatment regimens of Korean patients with type 2 diabetes who were aware of their condition.

Methods: Participants (n = 16582) aged ≥ 19 years from the 2016-18 National Health and Nutrition Survey were divided into diabetes-aware and unaware groups and the variables were compared.

Results: Among 1,906 (11.5%) diabetic adults, 1,433 (75.2%) were aware of their condition; 130 (9.1%) had nutrition education, and 1,340 (93.5%) were in the diabetes-aware treatment group. The diabetes-aware group had higher average age (P < 0.0001) and lower average BMI (P = 0.0015) than the unaware group. Intake of total fat (P = 0.0034), saturated fatty acids (P = 0.0021), riboflavin (P = 0.0035) and niacin (P = 0.0228) was significantly higher in the unaware group than in the diabetes-aware group, after adjusting energy intake for age and sex. Current smoking (P = 0.0046) and heavy drinking (P < 0.0001) rates were higher in the unaware group, whereas fiber intake (P = 0.0054) was lower in the unaware group. Higher levels of glycated hemoglobin were found in the group treated for diabetes (7.2%) than in the no-treatment (6.8%) group (P = 0.0048). Diabetes control was significantly better in the high income group.

Conclusions: There is a need to strengthen nutritional education to prevent diabetes and improve the health status of diabetic patients in Korea.

Keywords: awareness; diabetes; health care; nutrition education; treatment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of individuals with diabetes in Korean adults.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Diabetes control rate (%): percentage of diabetic patients whose HbA1c is less than 6.5%. (B) HbA1c was expressed as means ± standard error (STDERR). Treatment: Diabetic patients are defined as taking hypoglycemic agents or insulin. No-Treatment: Diabetic patients who are not taking hypoglycemic agents or insulin.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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