Metabolic control in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus: factors associated with patient outcomes.

We conducted a cross-sectional study to assess the association of various demographic and medical-care variables with metabolic outcomes in non-insulin-dependent diabetic subjects. The study population was representative of the diagnosed care-seeking diabetic population of a defined geographic community on the Navajo reservation in Arizona. The dependent variable metabolic control was measured as the mean of all random plasma glucose values obtained only at scheduled diabetes clinic visits over 2 yr. Multivariate analysis of the data showed that better metabolic control was most strongly associated with compliance with scheduled appointments. Mode of treatment was also associated with metabolic control. Other variables tested, including source of care, age, sex, duration of diabetes, presence of complications, and weight change, were not associated with metabolic control. The strongest analysis of covariance model with demographic and medical-care variables accounted for 39% of the variance in metabolic control. The analysis suggests that other variables, possibly including several psychosocial variables, need to be assessed for their contribution to metabolic control.