Patient-specific factors associated with use of diabetes self-management education and support programs in Louisiana

The prevalence of diabetes self-management education and support (DSME/S) use among patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and patients with insulin prescription has not been evaluated. It is also unclear what demographic, behavioral, and clinical factors associated with use of DSME/S.

This retrospective analysis was based on electronic health records from the Research Action for Health Network (2013-2019). Patients with newly diagnosed T2DM were identified as 35-94 year-olds diagnosed with T2DM≥1 year after the first recorded office visit. Patients with insulin were identified by the first insulin prescription records. DSME/S (Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System G0108 and G0109) codes that occurred from 2 months before the 'new diagnosis date' or first insulin prescription date through 1 year after were defined as use of DSME/S. Age-matched controls (non-users) were identified from the Electronic Health Records (EHR). The date of first DSME/S record was selected as the index date. Logistic regression was used to estimate the associations between patient factors and use of DSME/S.

The prevalence of DSME/S use was 6.5% (8909/137 629) among patients with newly diagnosed T2DM and 32.7% (13,152/40,212) among patients with diabetes taking insulin. Multivariable analysis found that among patients with newly diagnosed T2DM, black and male patients were less likely to use DSME/S, while in patients with insulin, they were more likely to use the service compared with white and female counterparts, respectively. Among patients taking insulin, those with private insurance or self-pay status were significantly less likely, while those with Medicaid were more likely to use the service compared with their Medicare counterparts. A strong positive association was found between HbA1c, obesity, and DSME/S use in both cohorts, while hypertension was negatively associated with DSME/S in both cohorts.

We showed a low rate of DSME/S use in Louisiana, especially in patients with newly diagnosed T2DM. Our findings demonstrated heterogeneity in factors influencing DSME/S use between patients with newly diagnosed T2D and patients with insulin.