Type 2 diabetes severity in the workforce: An occupational sector analysis using German claims data

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Occupational Medicine
• Diabetes Research

Background:

• Workplace is a key setting for disease prevention, with type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevalence differing by gender, age, and job sector.
• Understanding these variations is crucial for identifying at-risk occupational groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define vulnerable occupational groups by analyzing T2D severity and trends.
• To examine T2D severity and trends across different genders, age groups (18-45 and 46+), and nine occupational sectors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized claims data from a statutory health insurance provider (AOKN).
• Measured T2D severity using the adapted diabetes complications severity index-complication count (DCSI-CC).
• Analyzed DCSI-CC scores and trends from 2012-2019 using ordinal logistic regression.

Main Results:

• T2D severity significantly increased over time in older working men and women.
• Occupational sectors like "Transport, logistics, protection and security" and "Construction" showed higher T2D severity compared to the "Health sector, social work, teaching & education."
• Working men generally had higher DCSI-CC scores than women, with gender-specific increases in severity in certain sectors.

Conclusions:

• Significant differences in T2D severity and trends exist based on gender, age, and occupational sector.
• Personalized prevention strategies considering occupational contexts are beneficial for working individuals.
• Further research should investigate T2D trends within specific occupations in vulnerable sectors.