Diabetes in deprived patients

Abstract

Low educational level and living in a disadvantaged area are two factors that increase the risk of developing type-2 diabetes (T2D) by 20–50%. For type-1 diabetes (T1D), there is no such socioeconomic gradient. For the most deprived patients with T2D, many studies confirmed associations between socioeconomic deprivation and poorer health behavior, lower compliance with follow-up examination and higher HbA1c levels, which probably contribute to an increased risk of complications and even mortality. The gradient is even higher for women. For patients with T1D, deprivation also increases the risk of complications and diabetes-related mortality. The issue of equal access to new technologies must be considered by healthcare teams. In practice, screening for deprivation and assessing health literacy levels are the first diagnostic steps, in order to involve other stakeholders such as social workers and health mediators, and to develop patient partnerships.