Diabetes risk in British adults in mid life: A national prevalence study of glycated haemoglobin

Aims: Information on the population at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes in the UK is scarce. We used data from the 1958 British birth cohort to estimate geographical and socio-economic variations in HbA_1c in mid life. Methods: Participants (n = 7799) born in England, Scotland and Wales and currently living in the UK. Individuals were classified according to the presence of Type 2 diabetes and by thresholds of HbA_1c. HbA _1c ≥ 5.5 was used as an indicator for possible subclinical alterations in glucose metabolism. Results: The majority of the population had HbA_1c < 5.5% (79.3%); 16.7% had HbA_1c 5.5-5.9%, 2.0% 6.0-6.9% and 0.6% had HbA_1c ≥ 7.0%. Individuals from manual socio-economic groups and those living in the East of England and Scotland had a higher prevalence of HbA_1c at or above the upper normal range (5.5%). Conclusions: Estimates from this nationwide sample suggest that a proportion of Britons are likely to have subclinical alterations in glucose metabolism by their mid 40s, and this proportion is greater in some socio-economic groups and geographical regions than in others.