Identification of Subgroups with Poor Glycemic Control among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from KNHANES VII (2016 to 2018)

Purpose: This study was performed to assess the level of blood glucose and to identify poor glycemic control groups among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: Data of 1,022 Korean type 2 DM patients aged 30-64 years were extracted from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey VII. Complex samples analysis and a decision-tree analysis were performed using the SPSS WIN 26.0 program. Results: The mean level of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was 7.22 ± 0.25%, and 69.0% of the participants showed abnormal glycemic control (HbA1c ≥ 6.5%). The characteristics of participants associated with poor glycemic control groups were presented with six different pathways by the decision-tree analysis. Poor glycemic control groups were classified according to the patients’ characteristics such as period after DM diagnosis, awareness of DM, sleep duration, gender, alcohol drinking, occu-pation, income status, low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, abdominal obesity, and number of walking days per week. Period of DM diagnosis with a cut-off point of 6 years was the most significant predictor of the poor glycemic control group. Conclusion: The find-ings showed the predictable characteristics of the poor glycemic control groups, and they can be used to screen the poor glycemic control groups among adults with type 2 DM.