Temporal Distribution of Elevated-HbA1c Records and a Young-Adult Multiorgan Biomarker Profile in Diabetes: A Retrospective Observational Study.
6 affiliations
- 1Korea University College of Health Sciences, Korea University, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.
- 2Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Cyprus International University, 99258 Nicosia, Cyprus.
- 3Islamabad Diagnostic Center (IDC), Islamabad 44000, Pakistan.
- 4International Center of Medical Sciences Research (ICMSR), Islamabad 44000, Pakistan.
- 5Faculty of Health, Széchenyi István University, 9026 Győr, Hungary.
- 6Center for Research Development, University of Cyberjaya, Persiaran Bestari, Cyber 11, Cyberjaya 63000, Selangor, Malaysia.
Abstract
Background/objectives
Diabetes-related renal, lipid, and hepatic abnormalities are clinically important, but their distribution may be heterogeneous and is not fully represented by HbA1c alone. We characterized the temporal age and sex composition of elevated-HbA1c records and, separately, the multiorgan biomarker profile of a 2022 young-adult subcohort.Methods
This retrospective observational study analyzed 1160 patient-year records classified as having elevated HbA1c from 2019-2022. These were annual record strata rather than 1160 unique individuals or a cohort followed as participants aged. A separate cross-sectional biomarker subcohort comprised 49 adults aged 18-29 years in 2022, of whom 26 were source-classified as having elevated HbA1c. Annual age and sex distributions were assessed using chi-square tests. Biomarker abnormalities were summarized with biomarker-specific denominators and Wilson 95% confidence intervals; sex comparisons were exploratory and used Fisher's exact tests, odds ratios, φ coefficients, and Benjamini-Hochberg false-discovery-rate correction.Results
Age composition differed across calendar years (χ²[6] = 45.02, p < 0.001; Cramér's V = 0.139), with adults aged ≥60 years accounting for 50.0% of elevated-HbA1c records in 2022. Sex composition also varied (χ²[3] = 19.47, p < 0.001; Cramér's V = 0.130). In the young-adult biomarker subcohort, the most frequent abnormalities were total cholesterol (60.0%), triglycerides (53.8%), UACR (45.5%), urea (40.0%), uric acid (40.0%), and ALT (35.3%). Elevated urea showed the largest female-to-male odds ratio (17.50, 95% CI 1.22-250.37; p = 0.041), but no sex-biomarker association remained significant after false-discovery-rate correction (minimum q = 0.295).Conclusions
The study demonstrates temporal heterogeneity in elevated-HbA1c record composition and a descriptive young-adult biomarker profile dominated by dyslipidemia, albuminuria, selected renal-metabolic abnormalities, and ALT elevation. Because the archived dataset did not retain the paired continuous HbA1c-biomarker data or older-age biomarker data needed for dose-response or cross-age comparisons, the findings should not be interpreted as establishing an HbA1c-linked multiorgan causal relationship. They support the value of integrated organ-risk assessment and the need for prospective patient-level analyses across HbA1c and age strata.
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BibTeX
@article{saeed2026temporal,
title = {{Temporal Distribution of Elevated-HbA1c Records and a Young-Adult Multiorgan Biomarker Profile in Diabetes: A Retrospective Observational Study.}},
author = {Umar Saeed and Muhammad Rehan Uppal and Rizwan Uppal and Zsolt Jenő Szepesváry and Zahra Zahid Piracha},
journal = {Diseases (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/diseases14100379},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930006},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Temporal Distribution of Elevated-HbA1c Records and a Young-Adult Multiorgan Biomarker Profile in Diabetes: A Retrospective Observational Study.
AU - Umar Saeed
AU - Muhammad Rehan Uppal
AU - Rizwan Uppal
AU - Zsolt Jenő Szepesváry
AU - Zahra Zahid Piracha
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - Diseases (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/diseases14100379
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42930006
AB - Background/objectives Diabetes-related renal, lipid, and hepatic abnormalities are clinically important, but their distribution may be heterogeneous and is not fully represented by HbA1c alone. We characterized the temporal age and sex composition of elevated-HbA1c records and, separately, the multiorgan biomarker profile of a 2022 young-adult subcohort.Methods This retrospective observational study analyzed 1160 patient-year records classified as having elevated HbA1c from 2019-2022. These were annual record strata rather than 1160 unique individuals or a cohort followed as participants aged. A separate cross-sectional biomarker subcohort comprised 49 adults aged 18-29 years in 2022, of whom 26 were source-classified as having elevated HbA1c. Annual age and sex distributions were assessed using chi-square tests. Biomarker abnormalities were summarized with biomarker-specific denominators and Wilson 95% confidence intervals; sex comparisons were exploratory and used Fisher's exact tests, odds ratios, φ coefficients, and Benjamini-Hochberg false-discovery-rate correction.Results Age composition differed across calendar years (χ²[6] = 45.02, p < 0.001; Cramér's V = 0.139), with adults aged ≥60 years accounting for 50.0% of elevated-HbA1c records in 2022. Sex composition also varied (χ²[3] = 19.47, p < 0.001; Cramér's V = 0.130). In the young-adult biomarker subcohort, the most frequent abnormalities were total cholesterol (60.0%), triglycerides (53.8%), UACR (45.5%), urea (40.0%), uric acid (40.0%), and ALT (35.3%). Elevated urea showed the largest female-to-male odds ratio (17.50, 95% CI 1.22-250.37; p = 0.041), but no sex-biomarker association remained significant after false-discovery-rate correction (minimum q = 0.295).Conclusions The study demonstrates temporal heterogeneity in elevated-HbA1c record composition and a descriptive young-adult biomarker profile dominated by dyslipidemia, albuminuria, selected renal-metabolic abnormalities, and ALT elevation. Because the archived dataset did not retain the paired continuous HbA1c-biomarker data or older-age biomarker data needed for dose-response or cross-age comparisons, the findings should not be interpreted as establishing an HbA1c-linked multiorgan causal relationship. They support the value of integrated organ-risk assessment and the need for prospective patient-level analyses across HbA1c and age strata.
SN - 2079-9721
ER -