Mortality by race among low-income adults with early-onset insulin-treated diabetes

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To determine if long-termmortality rates in early-onset insulin-treated diabetes differ by race among adults of similar socioeconomic status. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODSdA total of 391 (299 African Americans, 92 whites) mostly low-income adults 40-79 years of age with insulin-treated diabetes diagnosed before 30 years of age were recruited from community health centers in the southeast U.S. Cox models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) of all-causemortality among African Americans compared with whites. Additionally, standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were used to compare the mortality experience of the individuals with diabetes with both national and general community health center sex- and race-specific population norms. RESULTSdMean age at diabetes diagnosis and cohort entry, respectively, was 21 and 50 years in African Americans and 19 and 51 years in whites. During an average of 6.7 years of follow-up, 29% of African Americans and 35% of whites died. In multivariable analysis, no significant mortality difference was observed among African Americans compared with whites (HR 0.83 [95% CI 0.53-1.30]; P = 0.51). Compared with the race-specific U.S. general population, SMRs for those with diabetes were 5.7 in African Americans and 11.7 in whites. However, when compared with the same source population (i.e., the community health center population), SMRs were 3.5 and 3.7 in African Americans and whites, respectively. CONCLUSIONSdElevated mortality persists in men and women with long duration of early-onset insulin-treated diabetes, but given survival to 40 years of age and similarly low economic status and access to health care, our data do not suggest a racial disparity in mortality. © 2013 by the American Diabetes Association.