Correlates of health care use among White and minority men and women with diabetes: An NHANES study.

Wong JJ, Hood KK, Breland JY. Correlates of health care use among White and minority men and women with diabetes: An NHANES study. Diabetes research and clinical practice. 2019 Apr 1; 150:122-128.

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Abstract:

AIMS: The current study sought to identify patient-level factors related to health care use among White and minority men and women with diabetes. METHODS: A sample of 447 of non-pregnant individuals with diabetes, ages 18-64, was drawn from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys dataset. Poisson regression models tested associations between health care use and self-rated health, depression, medical comorbidities, body mass index, marital status, number of children, income, insurance coverage, and age, stratified by gender and racial/ethnic minority status. RESULTS: Poorer self-rated health was the only significant correlate of increased health care use among White men with diabetes whereas income and insurance were significant correlates of increased use among minority men. Among White and minority women, higher levels of depression and being single were correlated with greater health care use. Comorbid medical conditions and insurance coverage were also related to use among minority women. CONCLUSIONS: Among individuals with diabetes, health care use among White men appeared to be driven by subjective health whereas financial factors were critical among minority men. Family structure and mental health were instrumentally associated with health care use among all women. These factors can be targeted to promote equitable access to care.