Application of new international classification of adult‐onset diabetes in Chinese inpatients with diabetes mellitus

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To determine whether the new international cluster-based classification method can be applied to Chinese inpatients with diabetes mellitus (DM). METHODS: Adult patients with DM hospitalized in our tertiary care centre from January 2017 to December 2018 were included in the study. K-means cluster analysis was done in clusters based on glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies, body mass index, glycosylated haemoglobin, homeostasis model-assessed beta cell function, insulin resistance index, and age at diagnosis of DM. Chi-square test was used to analyse inter-subgroup differences in DM-related complications and family history of DM. p < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: A total of 1152 inpatients with DM were included in the study. Five subgroups were obtained by cluster analysis with highest proportion of population in mild obesity-related DM subgroup (34.55%), followed by mild age-related DM (21.55%), severe insulin deficiency DM (20.51%), severe insulin resistance DM (19.02%), and severe autoimmune DM subgroup (4.36%). The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy, diabetic peripheral vascular disease, diabetic ketosis, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and family history of DM differed significantly among the subgroups (p < 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: This cluster-based classification could be applied to hospitalized adult patients with DM in China. It might help in strategizing for DM patients, and hence, improve management of DM in these patients.