The Danish Adult Diabetes Registry

AIM OF THE DATABASE: The aim of the Danish Adult Diabetes Registry (DADR) is to provide data from both the primary health care sector (general practice [GP]) and the secondary sector (specialized outpatient clinics) to assess the quality of treatment given to patients with diabetes. The indicators represent process and outcome indicators selected from the literature.

STUDY POPULATION: The total diabetes population in Denmark is estimated to be ~300,000 adult diabetes patients. Approximately 10% have type 1 diabetes, which is managed mainly in the secondary sector, and 90% have type 2 diabetes with the majority (80%) being treated in primary health care. In 2014, DADR included data from a total of 70,826 patients.

MAIN VARIABLES: The following variables are assessed: date of analysis as well as the outcome for hemoglobin A1c, blood pressure, lipids, urinary albumin-creatinine ratio, smoking status, glucose-, blood pressure-, and lipid-lowering treatment (yes/no), insulin pump treatment (yes/no), and date of last eye and foot examination.

DESCRIPTIVE DATA: In 2014, the annual report included data regarding over 38,000 patients from outpatient clinics, which is assumed to have included almost all patients in this setting, and >32,000 from GPs, reflecting improved but still limited coverage from this setting. The annual results are published in a compiled report of Danish Diabetes Care, which included DADR, data from the pediatric diabetes database, and the national ophthalmological diabetes database. The annual report is published, which included data on national, regional, and local level (individual outpatient clinics and corresponding GPs). This allows a comprehensive overview of diabetes care in Denmark.

CONCLUSION: The database covers an increasing fraction of patients with diabetes in Denmark, and the structure for full coverage is in place. Annual reporting has helped to ensure focus on the quality of diabetes treatment in the primary and secondary health care. Furthermore, it is an important resource for Danish register-based diabetes research.