MORTALITY DISPARITY BY SOCIOECONOMIC POSITION IN PEOPLE WITH AND WITHOUT DIABETES: OPEN COHORT STUDIES IN FOUR HIGH-INCOME COUNTRIES
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Background
There have been mixed findings on whether mortality is socially patterned among people with diabetes. We compared all-cause mortality trends by socioeconomic position (SEP) among people with and without diabetes for 2004-2021 in four high-income countries.
Methods
We conducted open cohort studies in Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Scotland and included national or regional populations aged 35-69 years. We used the European standard population in 2013 to calculate age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) by calendar year, SEP quintile, diabetes status, and sex. SEP quintiles were defined using standardised disposable household income in Denmark and the Netherlands, and area-based indices in Australia and Scotland. We calculated the age-standardised slope index of inequality (SII) and age-adjusted relative index of inequality (RII) using Poisson regression as absolute and relative measures of socioeconomic inequality respectively across the study populations stratified by calendar year, diabetes status, and sex.
Results
208,011 deaths occurred during 17 million person years (py) of follow-up among 35-69 year olds with diabetes, and 1.1 million deaths during 298 million py of follow-up among people without diabetes. ASMRs generally increased with increasing deprivation and varied between 1.3 (95% CI: 1.2-1.4) deaths per 1000 py to 29.4 (95% CI: 26.0-32.8) deaths per 1000 py. We found absolute and relative mortality inequality among those with and without diabetes, both generally increased during the follow-up period.
Conclusion
Disparities in mortality by SEP increased during follow-up in most countries. Strategies are needed to reduce excess mortality associated with low SEP and diabetes and related socioeconomic inequality.
