RESEARCH ARTICLE Extreme Levels of HbA1c Increase Incident ESRD Risk in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: Competing Risk Analysis in National Cohort of Taiwan Diabetes Study

Background Whether HbA1c is a predictor of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in type 2 diabetes patients remains unclear. This study evaluated relationship between HbA1c and ESRD in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes. Methods Patients aged 30 years who were free of ESRD (n = 51 681) were included from National Diabetes Care Management Program from 2002–2003. Extended Cox proportional hazard model with competing risk of death served to evaluate association between HbA1c level and ESRD. Results A total of 2613 (5.06%) people developed ESRD during a follow-up period of 8.1 years. Overall incidence rate of ESRD was 6.26 per 1000 person-years. Patients with high levels of HbA1c had a high incidence rate of ESRD, from 4.29 for HbA1c of 6.0%–6.9 % to 10.33 for HbA1c 10.0 % per 1000 person-years. Patients with HbA1c < 6.0 % particularly had