STATISTICAL BRIEF #518:
Treatment and Monitoring of Adults with Diagnosed Diabetes by Race/Ethnicity, 2015–2016

Introduction

Findings

• Blacks (82.8 percent) and Hispanics (81.5 percent) were less likely than whites (89.0 percent) to have had their blood cholesterol checked (figure 3a).
• Hispanics (62.2 percent) and Asians (61.4 percent) were less likely than whites (71.6 percent) and blacks (69.3 percent) to have had their feet checked (figure 3b).
• Hispanics (59.3 percent) and Asians (56.5 percent) were less likely than whites (67.1 percent) to have had an eye examination (figure 3c).
• While nearly three-fourths of adults with diabetes (72.1 percent) reported having had the A1C test, over one-fifth (22.3 percent) did not know if they had that test during the year. Whites (76.7 percent) were more likely than the other race/ethnic groups (63.4-66.3 percent) to report having had the test and were less likely to report not having had the test (3.7 versus 7.4-9.0 percent) (figure 3d). Moreover, whites were less likely to report not knowing whether they had the test than the other race/ethnic groups (19.5 versus 25.5-29.2 percent).

Data Sources

Definitions

• Is your diabetes being treated by modifying your diet?
• Is your diabetes being treated by medications taken by mouth?
• Is your diabetes treated with insulin injections?

1. insulin injections with or without diet modification or oral medication
2. both diet modification and oral medication
3. oral medication only
4. diet modification only
5. none of the three methods

• During 2016, how many times did a doctor, nurse, or other health professional check your blood for glycosylated hemoglobin or "hemoglobin A-one-C"? Response categories were: the number of times (as filled), did not have A1C blood test, don't know, and never. From these responses, the following categories were constructed: testing at least once (1-95 times), 0 times during the year or never, and don't know (included in the denominator). The 2015-16 nonresponse rate for this item was 22.3 percent.
• Which of the following year(s) did a doctor or other health professional check your feet for any sores or irritations? Response categories were: 2016, 2015, 2014, before 2014, and never. Constructed categories for the analytic variable were: yes (2016), and no (2015, 2014, never). "Not ascertained" responses (1.3 percent overall) were excluded from the denominator.
• Which of the following year(s) did you have an eye exam in which your pupils were dilated? Response categories were: 2016, 2015, 2014, before 2014, and never. Observations classified as "not ascertained" (1.2 percent overall) were excluded from the denominator. Constructed categories for the analytic variable were: yes (2016), and no (2015, 2014, never).
• Which of the following year(s) did you have your blood cholesterol checked? Response categories were: 2016, 2015, 2014, before 2014, and never. Constructed categories for the analytic variable were: yes (2016), and no (2015, 2014, never). "Not ascertained" responses (1.2 percent overall) were excluded from the denominator. For 2015, questions, response categories, and the constructed variables for the above items were similar. The DCS sampling weight was applied to derive the average annual estimates for 2015-16.

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