Time to first optimal glycaemic control and associated factors among adult patients with diabetes at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, northwest Ethiopia: a retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To assess the time to first optimal glycaemic control and its predictors among adult patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital in Ethiopia.

Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Setting: University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, northwest, Ethiopia.

Participants: We recruited 423 adult diabetic patients who were diagnosed between 1 January 2018 and 30 December 2022 at the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital.

Outcome measures: The primary outcome was the time from diagnosis to the achievement of the first optimal glycaemic control, measured in months. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was fitted to identify predictors of time to first optimal glycaemic control. Data were collected with KoboToolbox from patient medical charts and exported to Stata V.17. The log-rank test was used to determine the survival difference between subgroups of participants.

Results: Median time to first optimal glycaemic control was 10.6 months. Among 423 adult diabetic patients, 301 (71.16%) achieved the first optimal glycaemic control during the study period. Age category (middle age (adjusted HR (AHR)=0.56, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.76), older age (AHR=0.52, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.82)), comorbidity (AHR=0.52, 95% CI 0.35 to 0.76), therapeutic inertia (AHR=0.20, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.30) and medication non-compliance (AHR=0.49, 95% CI 0.27 to 0.89) were significant predictors of time to optimal glycaemic control.

Conclusion: The median time to first optimal glycaemic control was prolonged. Diabetic care should focus on controlling the identified predictors to achieve optimal glycaemic control early after diagnosis.