Sex differences in diabetes prevalence and diabetes care among adults aged 40 – 79 years in Germany

Aims:

To examine sex differences in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes and diabetes care among adults in Germany.

Methods:

Persons with known diabetes (defined as lifetime diabetes history or current antidiabetic medication, n = 518) and unknown diabetes (no history, HbA1c >= 6.5%; n = 135) were identified from 40 – 79 year-old participants (N = 5104) of German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults 2008 – 11. Persons meeting criteria of type 1 diabetes or gestational diabetes were excluded. Among persons with known diabetes, 14 care indicators were analyzed. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were derived from logistic regression adjusting for age, community size, region, education plus BMI, smoking and sports for prevalence or plus living alone and diabetes duration for care indictors.

Results:

Compared to women, men had a significantly higher prevalence of total diabetes (14.3% vs.10.3%) and unknown diabetes (4.2% vs. 1.7%), but not known diabetes (10.1% vs. 8.6%, p =0.150). The respective ORs were 1.70 (1.30 – 2.24), 2.62 (1.69 – 4.07) and 1.37 (1.00 – 1.87). Among persons with known diabetes, women were less likely than men to achieve the therapeutic goal of total cholesterol.