Diabetes Care For Women Shows Gains, USA

Women are now about as likely as men to get recommended screening tests and treatments to manage their diabetes, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.


For Americans age 40 and over with diabetes:


-- The percentage of women who report being given three key recommended exams for diabetes -- blood sugar, retinal and foot -- increased from 37 percent in 2000 to 47 percent in 2003. During the same period, the percentage of men who reported receiving these exams rose only 3 percent from 46 percent to 49 percent.


-- The proportion of women whose blood sugar level was optimal increased from 38 percent for the period 1988 to 1994 to 47 percent for 1999 to 2002. In contrast, the proportion of men with optimal blood sugar level fell from 44 percent to 43 percent during the period.


-- In spite of the narrowing disparities between the genders, less than 60 percent of Americans, as a whole, receive optimal care for their diabetes.


This AHRQ News and Numbers uses data from the 2006 National Healthcare Quality Report and the 2006 National Healthcare Disparities Report, which measure the quality of health care across America in four key areas -- effectiveness of health care, patient safety, timeliness of care, and patient centeredness.


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