Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Hemoglobin Screening Among Adults with Diagnosed Diabetes by Race/Ethnicity and Sex, New Jersey, 2018-2021
Indicator Report Data View Options
Why Is This Important?
Proper diabetes management requires regular monitoring of blood sugar levels. Glucometers provide immediate feedback on blood sugar levels. An A1C test, however, tells a person what his or her average blood sugar level has been over the past two or three months and is a more reliable indicator of blood sugar control. An A1C level indicates the amount of sugar that is attached to red blood cells (hemoglobin cells). Red blood cells are replaced every two or three months and sugar stays attached to the cells until they die. When levels of blood sugar are high, more sugar is available to attach to red blood cells. For most people with diabetes, the target A1C level is less than 7 percent. Higher levels suggest that a change in therapy may be needed. Therefore, obtaining regular A1C tests plays an important role in diabetes management. The American Diabetes Association recommends that people with diabetes have an A1C test at least two times a year. However, the test should be conducted more often for individuals who are not meeting target blood sugar goals, or who have had a recent change in therapy. (See [http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/27/suppl_1/s15#T7])
Definition
Age-adjusted proportion of adults aged 18 years and older with diagnosed diabetes who self-reported having a glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C) measurement at least twice a year.
Data Notes
- Data have been age-adjusted to the U.S. 2000 standard population.
- 2019 data is not included in the average estimated prevalence. No data were collected in 2019.
Data Source
Behavioral Risk Factor Survey, Center for Health Statistics, New Jersey Department of Health(http://www.nj.gov/health/chs/njbrfs/)
How the Measure is Calculated
Numerator:
Number of persons with diagnosed diabetes interviewed for the survey who reported that they have had at least two A1C measurements in the year prior to being surveyed.Denominator:
Total number of persons with diagnosed diabetes interviewed during the same survey period.
Data Issues
Data from the New Jersey Behavioral Risk Factor Survey are intended to be representative of all non-institutionalized adult residents of New Jersey. Due to resource issues, however, adults with limited personal access to phone service or limited command of either English or Spanish are not represented. As with all surveys, also, some error results from nonresponse (e.g., refusal to participate in the survey or to answer specific questions), and faulty measurement (e.g., responses affected by social desirability or recall error). Data collection procedures intended to minimize such errors include the use of strict calling protocols, good questionnaire design, standardization of interviewer behavior, interviewer training, and frequent, on-site interviewer monitoring and supervision. Statistical weighting procedures are also used to minimize the potential impact of disproportionate representation of demographic subgroups defined in terms of age, sex, race, ethnicity, education level, marital status, home ownership, and county of residence. (See also [[a href="query/BRFSSQueryTechNotes.html" Behavioral Risk Factor Survey Data Description and Technical Notes]].)Related Health Objectives and Indicators
Health Initiative: HP2020
Healthy People 2020 Objective D-11
U.S. Target: Increase the proportion of adults with diabetes who have a glycosylated hemoglobin measurement at least twice a year to 72.9 percent (age-adjusted) by 2020
https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/diabetes
Health Initiative: HNJ2020
Healthy NJ 2020 Objective DM-4
NJ Target: Increase the proportion of adults with diabetes who have a glycosylated hemoglobin measurement (A1C) at least twice a year to 73.7 percent (age-adjusted) for the total population, 87.3% for Asians, 73.0% for Blacks, 56.3% for Hispanics, and 77.9% for Whites by 2020
https://www.nj.gov/health/chs/hnj2020/topics/diabetes.shtml