Diabetes Care for Women Shows Gains

AHRQ News and Numbers

Release date: June 18, 2007

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 (AHRQ).

For Americans ages 40 years and older with diabetes:

• The percentage of women who report being given three key recommended exams for diabetes—blood sugar, retinal, and foot screenings—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 years 1988 to 1994, to 47 percent for 1999 to 2002. In contrast, the proportion of men with an optimal blood sugar level fell from 44 percent to 43 percent during the 1999-2002 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 is based on data from the 2006 National Healthcare Quality Report, which examines the quality of health care across America in four key areas—effectiveness of health care, patient safety, timeliness of care, and patient centeredness.

For additional information on this AHRQ News and Numbers topic, or to speak with an expert, contact Bob Isquith at Bob.Isquith@ahrq.hhs.gov or call (301) 427-1539.

Current as of June 2007

Internet Citation:

Diabetes Care for Women Shows Gains. AHRQ News and Numbers, June 18, 2007. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/nn/nn061807.htm