Self-knowledge of HbA1c in people with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and its association with glycaemic control.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of accurate self-knowledge of a patient’s own HbA1c level (HbA1cSK), as a component of structural education and its association with glycaemic control. Methods: Data from the GUIDANCE study, a cross-sectional study involving 7597 participants from eight European countries was used. HbA1cSKwas evaluated and compared with lab-oratory measured HbA1c levels (HbA1cLAB), which represented the measure of glycaemic control. Accuracy of the self-reported HbA1c was evaluated by using agreement statistical methods. Results: The prevalence of HbA1cSKwas 49.4%. Within this group, 78.3% of the participants had accurately reported HbA1cSK. There was good level of agreement between HbA1cSKand HbA1cLAB(intra-class correlation statistic = 0.84, p < 0.0001). Participants with accurately reported HbA1cSKwere found to have a statistically significantly lower HbA1cLAB compared to participants with inaccurately reported HbA1cSK(7.0% versus 7.3%, p < 0.001).Conclusion: Nearly half of the patients had self-knowledge of their own HbA1c level. Moreover,the participants with accurately reported HbA1cSKwere found to have associated better glycaemic control.