Sex and income inequalities in preventive services in diabetes

Background Cancer preventive services (gynaecological cancer screening, colon cancer screening) and cardiometabolic screening are recommended by guidelines to individuals. People with diabetes were less likely to receive them than those without diabetes in some studies. Objectives To analyse differences in the coverage of preventive services in people with diabetes compared to non-diabetic individuals and in people with diabetes according to sex and household income. Methods We analysed data collected from the European Health Interview Survey 2013-2015, including individuals aged 40-74 (n = 179,318), 15,172 with diabetes from 29 countries. The income of a household (HHI) was described in quintiles. The relationship between the coverage of preventive services (cardiometabolic, vaccination, cancer screening) and sociodemographic characteristics was analysed with multiple logistic regression. Results Women comprised 53.8% of the total and 40% were 60-74 years. People with diabetes compared to those without diabetes had higher reported coverage of cardiometabolic screening (98.4% vs. 90.0% in cholesterol measurement; 97.0% vs. 93.6% in blood pressure measurement), colorectal cancer screening (27.1% vs. 24.6%) but lower coverage of gynaecological cancer screening (mammography: 29.2% vs. 33.5%, pap smear test: 28.3% vs. 37.9%). Among diabetic patients, women were less likely to receive cholesterol screening (OR = 0.81; 95% CI: 0.72-0.91) and colon cancer screening (OR = 0.79; 95% CI: 0.73-0.86) compared to men. Being affluent was positively associated with receiving cardiometabolic screening and mammography in diabetic patients. Conclusion People with diabetes reported higher coverage of preventive services except gynaecological cancer screening. Disparities were found in diabetes among women and less affluent individuals.

Automated summary

Research has shown that individuals with diabetes are more likely to receive cardiometabolic and colorectal cancer screenings, but less likely to receive gynaecological cancer screenings, compared to those without diabetes. Among individuals with diabetes, women and low-income individuals are less likely to receive certain screenings.