Socioeconomic factors related to attendance at a Type 2 diabetes screening programme

Abstract

Aims: The prevalence of diabetes is increasing, and screening of high-risk populations is recommended. A low attendance rate has been observed in many Type 2 diabetes screening programmes, so that an analysis of factors related to attendance is therefore relevant. This paper analyses the association between socioeconomic factors and attendance for Type 2 diabetes screening.

Methods: Persons aged 40-69 years (n = 4603) were invited to participate in a stepwise diabetes screening programme performed in general practitioners' offices in the county of Aarhus, Denmark in 2001. The study was population-based and cross-sectional with follow-up. The association between screening attendance in the high-risk population and socioeconomic factors was analysed by odds ratio.

Results: Forty-four percent of the estimated high-risk population attended the screening programme. In those with known risk for Type 2 diabetes, attenders were more likely to be older, to be unemployed and to live in the countryside than non-attenders. The risk for Type 2 diabetes was unknown for 21% of the study population; this group was younger and less likely to be cohabitant, skilled, or employed and to have middle or high income than the study population with known risk score for diabetes.

Conclusions: A low attendance rate was found in this screening programme for Type 2 diabetes. No substantial socioeconomic difference was found between attenders and non-attenders in the high-risk population. Further research is needed to uncover barriers to screening of Type 2 diabetes in socioeconomically deprived persons.