Issue 97 Item 5 Women with Diabetes are Poor and Less Educated

The report is based on a telephone survey of 110,000 women in the USA. Women with diabetes poor and less educated

Women with diabetes are twice as likely to have low household income than people without diabetes, according to US research.

In addition, they tended to be less well educated, with nearly 28% not completing high school. Only 12% of non-diabetic women had not completed high school. Some 40% had an annual income below $25,000 compared with 22% of non-diabetic women. These figures remained unchanged after adjusting for confounding factors such as age, race, and living arrangements (martial status, size of household and employment status).

The report concluded that the socioeconomic status of some women with diabetes might limit their ability to healthcare to reduce the risk of complications and early death. Reference: The socioeconomic status of women with diabetes. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2002; 51: 147-14