Epidemiological and Preventive Care Profile of Adults with Diabetes in Puerto Rico: A Practical Use of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Optional Diabetes Module, 2009

The optional diabetes module of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) was first made available to Puerto Rico (PR) in 1999. The diabetes module collects information on preventive care, self-management, and diabetes education. Data gathered from the 2009 PR BRFSS were analyzed to construct an epidemiological and preventive care profile of adults with diabetes in PR. Data were weighted to obtain estimates representative of the total adult population in PR. The prevalence of self-reported diabetes in PR was 12.9%. Most subjects with diabetes were age ≥ 45 years (85.1%), women (54.5%), were diagnosed at age ≥ 35 (83.5%), were covered by health insurance (96.0%), and belonged to a low socioeconomic level (59.9%). Among all adults with diabetes, 30.2% were using insulin, 46.4% practiced self-monitoring blood glucose, and 81.4% examined their feet at least once a day. In the last year, 89.1% visited a health care provider for diabetes care, 78.2% had the hemoglobin A one C (HbA1C) checked, 49.0% had their feet examined at least once by a health care provider, and 60.4% received a dilated eye examination. Only 34.8% of the adults with diabetes took a course or class in how to self-manage diabetes. PR BRFSS diabetes module provides the evidence-base data required by the public health system to evaluate preventive care in diabetes and to trace strategies focused in reducing the burden associated with diabetes and diabetes-related complications.