TY - JOUR
T1 - Association between income levels and irregular physician visits after a health checkup, and its consequent effect on glycemic control among employees
T2 - A retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study
AU - Nishi, Takumi
AU - Babazono, Akira
AU - Maeda, Toshiki
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 17K15873.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Aims/Introduction: The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of income levels on physician visit patterns and to quantify the consequent impact of irregular physician visits on glycemic control among employees’ health insurance beneficiaries in Japan. Materials and Methods: We obtained specific health checkup data of untreated diabetes patients from the Fukuoka branch of the Japanese Health Insurance Association. We selected 2,981 insurance beneficiaries and classified 650 and 2,331 patients into, respectively, the regular visit and irregular visit group. We implemented propensity score matching to select an adequate control group. Results: Compared with those with a standard monthly income <$2,000 (US$1 = ¥100), those with a higher monthly income were less likely to have irregular visits; $2,000–2,999: odds ratio 0.74 (95% confidence interval 0.56–0.98), $3,000–3,999: odds ratio 0.63 (95% confidence interval 0.46–0.87) and ≥$5,000: odds ratio 0.58 (95% confidence interval 0.39–0.86). After propensity score matching and adjusting for covariates, the irregular visit group tended to have poor glycemic control; increased glycated hemoglobin ≥0.5: odds ratio 1.90 (95% confidence interval 1.30–2.77), ≥1.0: odds ratio 2.75 (95% confidence interval 1.56–4.82) and ≥20% relatively: odds ratio 3.18 (95% confidence interval 1.46–6.92). Conclusions: We clarified that there was a significant relationship between income and irregular visits, and this consequently resulted in poor glycemic control. These findings would be useful for more effective disease management.
AB - Aims/Introduction: The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of income levels on physician visit patterns and to quantify the consequent impact of irregular physician visits on glycemic control among employees’ health insurance beneficiaries in Japan. Materials and Methods: We obtained specific health checkup data of untreated diabetes patients from the Fukuoka branch of the Japanese Health Insurance Association. We selected 2,981 insurance beneficiaries and classified 650 and 2,331 patients into, respectively, the regular visit and irregular visit group. We implemented propensity score matching to select an adequate control group. Results: Compared with those with a standard monthly income <$2,000 (US$1 = ¥100), those with a higher monthly income were less likely to have irregular visits; $2,000–2,999: odds ratio 0.74 (95% confidence interval 0.56–0.98), $3,000–3,999: odds ratio 0.63 (95% confidence interval 0.46–0.87) and ≥$5,000: odds ratio 0.58 (95% confidence interval 0.39–0.86). After propensity score matching and adjusting for covariates, the irregular visit group tended to have poor glycemic control; increased glycated hemoglobin ≥0.5: odds ratio 1.90 (95% confidence interval 1.30–2.77), ≥1.0: odds ratio 2.75 (95% confidence interval 1.56–4.82) and ≥20% relatively: odds ratio 3.18 (95% confidence interval 1.46–6.92). Conclusions: We clarified that there was a significant relationship between income and irregular visits, and this consequently resulted in poor glycemic control. These findings would be useful for more effective disease management.
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U2 - 10.1111/jdi.13025
DO - 10.1111/jdi.13025
M3 - Article
C2 - 30758145
AN - SCOPUS:85071502121
VL - 10
SP - 1372
EP - 1381
JO - Journal of Diabetes Investigation
JF - Journal of Diabetes Investigation
SN - 2040-1116
IS - 5
ER -