Health Care Disparities Between Men and Women With Type 2 Diabetes

INTRODUCTION: Regular medical checkups indicate a patient’s level of adherence to health care treatment, and the frequency of cancelled appointments or no-shows can indicate adherence. This study investigated the use of health care services by men and women and its impact on the control of their type 2 diabetes. METHODS: This study observed 100 patients with type 2 diabetes aged 45 years or older who lived in Ventura County, California, during January 1, 2015, to January 31, 2016. The data were collected by Magnolia Family Medical Center. A Pearson χ(2) test compared differences between men and women in whether they received a glycated hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) test in previous 6 months, a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol test in previous year, and a retinal examination in previous year. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test compared attendance to medical appointments and HbA(1c) values for men and women. RESULTS: Women had a higher rate of scheduling, cancelling or rescheduling, and showing up to their medical appointments than did men, and men had a higher median HbA(1c) value than did women; all the Wilcoxon signed-rank tests showed a significant difference (P < .001). None of the χ(2) tests were significant. CONCLUSION: Although men and women had similar health care services for diabetes, men had less control of their disease and took less advantage of medical appointments than did women.