Gender Differences in Use of Preventive Eye Care Services Among Diabetic US Adults, Evidence from the BRFSS, 2010

Objectives: Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among adults 20-74 years of age, resulting in on average to 12, 000 - 24,000 new cases of blindness annually in the United States. Individuals with diabetes are at increased risk for complications such as optic nerve degeneration, glaucoma, vitreous hemorrhage, and diabetic retinopathy, all of which can lead to blindness. Prevention of diabetes related ocular complications can be achieved through frequent use of eye health services. The American Diabetic Association recommends that individuals with diabetes should have a dilated eye exam every year. The current study examines gender variations in and determinants of use of eye health services by US diabetic adults. Methods: Data from the 2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (n= 57,480) were weighted and analyzed using STATA 12 for Windows. Frequency distributions and cross-tabulations were performed for categorical variables. Multiple logistic regression models were also estimated. Results: The majority of the sample participants (95.8 %) reported having no eye care insurance coverage. Preliminary results suggest that, there is no significant difference between males and females in eye care services use. Age, education, employment, income, insurance status, overweight, having a diagnosis of retinopathy, race and ethnicity, general health status, and exercise are significant predictors (p <0.05) of eye care health services utilization. Lack of eye care insurance was highly associated with reduced utilization( OR: 0.64, p =0.00) Conclusion: Strategies for increasing eye care services utilization among diabetics will be discussed along with detailed results of the regression analysis.