African-American and Hispanic patients with diabete are less likely than white patients to get eye exams, flu shots or cholesterol tests as part of their diabetes prevention care, according to a new review of recent studies in the latest issue of American Journal of Managed Care.
Three studies also showed significantly lower rates of flu vaccination -- between 8 percent and 29 percent lower -- in black populations compared to white populations, according to Julienne Kirk, Pharm. D., C.D.E., of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.
Six studies that compared cholesterol test rates found that minority populations received fewer such tests than white groups, with the differences ranging from 3.4 percent to 19 percent among the studies.
Five of 36 studies reported a lower rate of eye exams -- as large as an 8 percent difference in some cases -- among minority patients compared to white patients, Kirk and colleagues found.
Although these studies indicate minority patients may receive less preventive care than white patients in some areas, "the majority of the data indicated that the rates of diabetes monitoring are generally low regardless of the population studied," Kirk says.
Good evidence suggests that regular preventive care for diabetic or pre-diabetic patients can help patients avoid complications from their disease. The American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association and many others have published clinical guidelines for the care of diabetic patients that include measures such as regular foot and eye exams, cholesterol tests and blood glucose monitoring.