Disability and diabetes

Little work has been carried out on diabetes and disability. A questionnaire survey on the employment of people with diabetes aged 17-65 years was carried out in the UK. Data were also collected from a questionnaire sent to a random sample of employers. A comparison between those diabetic patients registered as disabled and those not so registered showed that men were more likely to be registered than women. The disabled group were also older, lower down the social scale, more likely to rent their house, to have left school before the age of 17 years, and to live in the north of the country. Significantly fewer disabled patients were currently working compared with those not registered as disabled (30% versus 65%, p less than 0.0001). Registered disabled patients who were working were no more likely to report having more than 20 days off sick in the last year compared with those patients not registered as disabled (7% versus 9%). Employers did not report adverse sickness absence rates for their registered disabled diabetic patients. People with diabetes who are registered as disabled can make good employees in a range of different occupations. Registering as disabled may improve employment opportunities for people with diabetes who are finding difficulty in obtaining suitable employment.