Introduction: Our objective was to evaluate the association between patient profiles and sustained diabetes management (SDM) among patients with type 2 diabetes.
Methods: We collected HbA1c values recorded from 2014 through 2020 for 570 patients in a hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, and calculated a standard level based on an HbA1c level less than 7.0% to determine SDM. We used patients' self-reported data on diabetes self-care behaviors to construct profiles. We used 8 survey items to perform a latent profile analysis with 3 groups (poor management, medication adherence, and good management). After adjusting for other determining factors, we used multiple regression analysis to explore the relationship between patient profiles and SDM.
Results: The good management group demonstrated better SDM than the poor management group (β = 0.183; P = .003). Using the most recent HbA1c value and the 7-year average of HbA1c values as the outcome, we found lower HbA1c values in the good management group than in the poor management group (β = -0.216 [P = .01] and -0.217 [P = .008], respectively).
Conclusion: By using patient profiles, we confirmed a positive relationship between optimal patient behavior in self-care management and SDM. Patients with type 2 diabetes exhibited effective self-care management behavior and engaged in more health care activities, which may have led to better SDM. In promoting patient-centered care, using patient profiles and customized health education materials could improve diabetes care.