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Improvements for screening diabetic retinopathy needed for minority populations
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Differences in eye exams, including screening and monitoring for diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetes, have persisted during the past 10 years among racial and ethnic groups, according to research published in Diabetes Care. Researchers call for the need for national programs to improve eye care among minority populations with diabetes.
“Patient, provider, and health care system factors may contribute to the disparities in diabetic retinopathy screening observed in this study. Health insurance coverage and benefit design may have a direct effect on self-monitoring behavior, especially for costly screenings, such as eye examinations,” the researchers wrote. “In this study, health insurance coverage, with either public or private insurance, was identified as the most significant factor for receiving an eye examination.”
Researchers in New Orleans examined data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (2002-2009), including the Diabetes Care Survey, to determine racial disparities of eye examinations among US adults with diabetes. Data included working adults with diabetes aged 18 to 64 years. Eye examination rates were examined for each year between non-Hispanic whites and minorities and then weighted to national estimates. Logistic regression models were used to assess the data.
For all 8 years, white patients with diabetes were found to have had consistently higher rates of annual eye examinations (56% in 2002, increasing to 59% in 2009) compared with minority populations (56% in 2002, decreasing to 49% in 2009). In 2008, there was a 15% gap between the races, making it the largest difference, followed by 11% in 2006, 10% in 2009 and 7% in 2005 (adjusted OR for 2008=0.61; P<.01).
Having public insurance increased the adjusted OR for receiving an eye exam within a range of 1.67 (95% CI, 1.02-2.73) in 2003 to 2.69 (95% CI, 1.71-4.21) in 2006. Private insurance adjusted ORs ranged from 1.89 (95% CI, 1.16-3.07) in 2007 to 3.5 (95% CI, 2.27-5.41) in 2005.
Disclosures: No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
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