People with lower socioeconomic status and those belonging to ethnic minority groups receive worse health care in the treatment of diabetes than the rest of patients in the world's most developed countries. This conclusion emerges from a research conducted at the University of Granada which has accomplished the most comprehensive bibliographic review worldwide to date on health care of this disease in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries that have universal coverage health systems. The OECD brings together the most advanced and developed countries on the planet, and its members account for 70% of the global market.
This work has been carried out by Ignacio Ricci Cabello, from the Department of Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Granada, and directed by professors Isabel Ruiz P-rez (Andalusian School of Public Health) and Soledad M-rquez Calder-n (Andalusian Regional Ministry of Health). Its main objective was to determine whether health systems provide equitable healthcare to all diabetics, regardless of gender, race, socioeconomic status or country of origin or they do not. In addition, researchers focused on "rich" countries with universal coverage health systems, as these are the best placed to prevent such discrimination.
Late diagnosis
The study results showed that inequalities do exist: people with lower socioeconomic status (low income levels, illiterate, unemployed ...) are diagnosed later. In many cases, before receiving a diagnosis, they suffer complications from the disease that an early diagnosis would avoid.
Moreover, Ignacio Ricci explains, "these groups control their blood sugar levels worse because they do not know how to do it or do not realize the important role played by self-managing their disease in the prevention of diabetes complications.
The UGR researcher points out that "the worst part is carried by minority ethnic groups, who are not only diagnosed later and control their disease worse, but they are also treated differently and have greater difficulty in accessing health services responsible for monitoring the disease (endocrinology, early detection of diabetic retinopathy or diabetic foot programs...) ".