Ethnicity and HbA1c

The following article recently was published online in the journal Diabetes Care.

Ethnic Differences in Glycemic Markers in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Bruce H.R. Wolffenbuttel 1, William H. Herman 2, Jorge L. Gross 3, Mala Dharmalingam 4, Honghua H. Jiang 5 and Dana S. Hardin 5

Author Affiliations
1 University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Dept. of Endocrinology, Groningen, the Netherlands
2 Dept’s of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
3 Centro De Pesquisa Em Diabetes, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil
4 Bangalore Endocrinology and Diabetes Research Centre, Bangalore, India
5 Lilly Diabetes, Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, Indiana

Abstract
OBJECTIVES Recent studies have reported hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) differences across ethnic groups that could limit its use in clinical practice. The authors of the A1C-Derived Average Glucose study have advocated to report HbA1c in estimated average glucose (AG) equivalents. The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between HbA1c and the mean of three 7-point self-monitored blood glucose (BG) profiles, and to assess whether estimated AG is an accurate measure of glycemia in different ethnic groups.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We evaluated 1,879 participants with type 2 diabetes in the DURABLE trial who were 30 to 80 years of age, from 11 countries, and, according to self-reported ethnic origin, were Caucasian, of African descent (black), Asian, or Hispanic. We performed logistic regression of the relationship between the mean self-monitored BG and HbA1c, and estimated AG, according to ethnic background.

RESULTS Baseline mean (SD) HbA1c was 9.0% (1.3) (75 [SD, 14] mmol/mol), and mean self-monitored BG was 12.1 mmol/L (3.1) (217 [SD, 55] mg/dL). In the clinically relevant HbA1c range of 7.0–9.0% (53–75 mmol/mol), non-Caucasian ethnic groups had 0.2–0.5% (2–6 mmol/mol) higher HbA1c compared with Caucasians for a given BG level. At the mean self-monitored BG levels ≤11.6 mmol/L, estimated AG overestimated the actual average BG; at levels >11.6 mmol/L, estimated AG underestimated the actual BG levels.

CONCLUSIONS For a given degree of glycemia, HbA1c levels vary among different ethnic groups. Ethnicity needs to be taken into account when using HbA1c to assess glycemic control or to set glycemic targets. Estimated AG is not a reliable marker for mean glycemia and therefore is of limited clinical value.

For the full paper, go to: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2013/06/03/dc12-2711.full.pdf+html (login with username and password required)

Researcher crapware

Onderzoekers worden aangemoedigd om met speciale applicaties als ORCID of ResearcherID (van Thomsen Reuters) te werken. Ik heb ResearcherID al aantal maanden gebruikt, ziet er doortimmerd. uit, is gemakkelijk in het gebruik, en d eoverzichten zijn fraai.

Echter, recent gaan aantal uitgevers met ORCID in zee, je reviewer account wordt gekoppeld aan ORCID. Hindawi is één van de uitgevers die gedaan heeft. Ik weet niet waarom dat is, zo’n geweldige verbetering geeft dit ook niet. Het is namelijk tragisch dat ORCID zulke buggy software biedt. Vanmiddag zat ik mijn publicatie lijst op ORCID bij te werken, en ineens was de lijst leeg. Van 164 publicaties naar 0 in een seconde. Met het updaten gaat het ook niet geweldig. Artikelen sorteren is er nauwelijks bij. Op ieder bestaand artikel moet je klikken om ‘m van privé naar publiek om te zetten. De artikelen worden op volgorde van jaartal, en vervolgens alfabetisch weergegeven, op volgorde van de eerste letter van de titel van iedere publicatie. Als je in je account setting hebt aangegeven dat nieuwe publicaties direct ‘publiek’ getoond mogen worden, staat dit bij hernieuwd inloggen weer op ‘privé’. Het programma is te stom om zelf dubbele entries van de zelfde publicatie te herkennen, die moet je met de hand opsporen en wissen.

‘ORCID reageert niet’ is de meest voorkomende melding.

O ja, heb ik al vermeld hoe LAAAAAAAAAAANGZAAAAAM deze website is. Wat een crap.

orcid

 

 

 

 

Researchers are encouraged to have a unique ID. Systems for this are ORCID and ResearcherID (from Thomsen Reuters). I have used ResearcherID for several months, it is easy to use and gives a great overview.

Recently, some journal publishers started to use ORCID, one of them is Hindawi. Your reviewer account is connected to your ORCID account. I am not sure why. This is not a major step forward. It is tragic that ORCID offers such buggy software. This afternoon, while updating my piblication list, I lost all 164 publications in one second. Updating is a painful undertaking. Sorting articles is rather difficult, the only option is that they are sorted by publication year (descending), and than by title. Changing publications from private to public means thta you have to click on the ‘public’ sign for each and every article. If in your account setting you flag that new articles are set to public when you add them, when logging in again it shows that this is set to private again. The program is too stupid to recognize double entries, even if they are EXACTLY the same.

‘ORCID does not respond’ is the most frequently occurring error while workinhg in the system.

By the way, did I mention that the website is really SLOOOOOOOW? This is crap.

Alpha Omega 2013

ScreenHunter_02 May. 09 11.44Op woensdag 13 november organiseert Health Investment samen met ondergetekende het 5e Alpha Omega congres. Dit succesvolle congres op het gebied van innvoaties in diagnostiek en behandeling van diabetes mellitus trekt ieder jaar weer enkele honderden deelnemers, hulpverleners op het gebied van diabetes.

Iedere 4-5 jaar veranderen onze behandelalgorithmes en richtlijnen aan de hand van de nieuwste inzichten. In 2012 werden de nieuwe internationale richtlijnen voor de behandeling van type 2 diabetes door de ADA en de EASD gezamenlijk gepubliceerd. Tevens zal in 2013 de nieuwe NHG standaard worden uitgebracht.
Dit congres is bedoeld voor o.a. huisartsen, internisten, (diabetes)verpleegkundigen en kinderartsen.

Onderwerpen dit jaar zijn o.a.:

Plenaire lezingen:
Complicaties bij Diabetes Mellitus: veranderingen in de laatste 2 decennia
Diabetische gastroparese: vaak niet onderkend
Duur, veelbelovend of beide? Nieuwe orale middelen 2013
Combinatie van insuline en GLP-1 agonist bij type 2 diabetes

Workshops:
RT-CGM: eerste resultaten van een groot Nederlands evaluatie project
GLP-1 agonisten: wat weten we van effecten en bijwerkingen 5 jaar na introductie?
Nieuwe Insulines: waarom, hoe en wat?
Behandeldoelen en gebruik van medicatie bij ouderen
Het meten van ketonen, zin of onzin.
Zelfcontrole bij type 2 diabetes: langer leven of onnodige kosten?
Van sensor naar Artificiële Betacel, waar staan we nu anno 2013?
Carelink: making sense of many data
Voorschrijfbevoegdheid medicatie door de diabetesverpleegkundige
Monitoring van bijwerking rond nieuw geïntroduceerde medicatie
Type 1 of type 2 diabetes: welke diagnostiek als je twijfelt wat de juiste diagnose is?
Ambulatory Glucose Profile (AGP): De diabetes ECG?
“Patchpompen, wat zijn de ervaringen, wat is de toekomst.”
De volgende stap in ‘Closing the Loop’

Voor meer informatie: http://www.healthinvestment.nl/programma_alpha_omega_congres.htm

Van Richtlijn naar Praktijk

ScreenHunter_12 Apr. 20 21.33Op woensdag 24 april wordt in Maastricht tijdens de Internistendagen een symposium gehouden onder bovenstaande titel. In dit symposium wordt aan drie onderwerpen aandacht besteed:
1. osteoporose en fractuurpreventie anno 2013
2. nieuwe EASD / ADA richtlijnen voor de behandeling van type 2 diabetes
3. Nieuwe orale antistollingsmiddelen
Mijn volledige presentatie van die avond vindt U elders op deze website onder het kopje ‘Lezingen’.

 

Endocrine disruptors and obesity

who-logo-enWe are observing an alarming escalation of the prevalence of obesity in wealthy developed countries as well as in poor nations. Such simultaneous global increase in obesity seems to be driven especially by changes in our life style. We eat more, and exercise less. It is, however, becoming increasingly clear that our current unhealthy lifestyle, possible ‘bad‘ genes and the interaction between them can NOT explain the rapid increase in the prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Our environment has changed considerably during the last few decades because of the ever increasing use and distribution of several synthetic organic and inorganic chemicals, like compounds which keep plastics strong (Bisphenol A), or flame retardants. Some of these substances mimic the action of natural hormones or block their actions by binding to cell receptors. They are therefore called Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). They disrupt the normal functioning of the endocrine system, and thereby influence many physiological pathways, amongst others those involved in the regulation of metabolism, energy and body weight. The European Uniopn has recently banned the use of Bisphenol A in baby bottles.

What is even more alarming is the recent finding that EDCs may cause epigenetic modifications. Exposures to certain EDCs may lead to permanent epigenetic changes with altered DNA methylation patterns in multiple genes that resulted in altered gene transcription. Furthermore, these epigenetic changes can be passed on from one generation to the next. There are new data which support the concept that EDCs are important contributing factors in the expanding obesity epidemic. As many studies have been done in animals, we need more research on the effects of EDCs in humans.

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