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Receipt of Diabetes Specialty Care and Management Services by Older Adults with Diabetes in the United States, 2015–2019

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posted on 2024-05-22, 20:07 authored by Anna R. Kahkoska, Jan Busby-Whitehead, Michele Jonsson-Funk, Richard E. Pratley, Ruth S. Weinstock, Laura A. Young, Joshua M. Weinstein

Objective: We characterized the receipt of diabetes specialty care and management services among older adults with diabetes.

Research Design and Methods: Using a 20% random sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries ≥65 years, we analyzed cohorts of T1D, T2D with history of severe hypoglycemia (HoH), and all other T2D annually from 2015-2019. Outcomes were receipt of office-based endocrinology care, diabetes education, outpatient diabetes health services excluding those provided in primary care, and any of the aforementioned services.

Results: In the T1D cohort, receipt of endocrinology care and any service increased from 25.9% and 27.0% in 2015 to 32.7% and 34.7% in 2019, respectively. In the T2D with HoH cohort, receipt of endocrinology care and any service were 13.9% and 14.6% in 2015, with minimal increases. Age, race/ethnicity, residential setting, and income were associated with receiving care.

Conclusions: Findings suggest many older adults may not receive specialty care and underscore health disparities.

Funding

The project described was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Grant K12TR004416. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. ARK also reports receiving research grants from the Diabetes Research Connection and the American Diabetes Association, and a prize from the National Academy of Medicine, outside the submitted work.

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