School of Medicine Publications and Presentations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-24-2024
Abstract
Introduction
Diabetes mellitus (DM) encompasses metabolic disorders characterized by elevated blood sugar. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and associated metrics of DM in the Rio Grande Valley (RGV), a low-income and medically underserved region in the United States, and compare these metrics to the national averages from 2012 to 2022.
Methods
A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted using publicly accessible data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Metrics analyzed included DM prevalence, average principal cost, rates of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, screenings, and prevalence of obesity. Data from the RGV counties were compared to national averages using Mann-Whitney U tests, with a p-value of <0.05 considered significant.
Results
From 2012 to 2022, DM affected patients in the RGV (43.95%) at significantly higher rates than the national average (26.73%) (p < 0.001). Obesity prevalence in the RGV was at higher rates than the national average (24.41% vs. 15.55%, p < 0.01). The screening rates of DM exceeded the national average (10.64% vs. 5.09%, p < 0.001). The average principal cost for patients in the RGV ($1,920.45) to treat DM was significantly greater than the national average principal cost ($859.64) (p < 0.001). The RGV also reported higher rates of ED visits (16.82 vs. 8.82 per 1,000 beneficiaries, p < 0.001) and hospitalizations (7.75 vs. 3.82 per 1,000 beneficiaries, p < 0.001).
Conclusion
The RGV exhibits significantly higher rates of DM and DM-associated metrics compared to the national averages, highlighting substantial public health disparities.
Recommended Citation
Gaddis, J. M., Arellano, E., Pulido, K., Torres, T., Chau-Zanetti, D., Quailes, N., & Suarez Parraga, A. R. (2024). Burden of Diabetes Mellitus in the Medically Underserved Rio Grande Valley. Cureus, 16(9), e70088. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.70088
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publication Title
Cureus
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.70088
Academic Level
medical student
Mentor/PI Department
Population Health and Biostatistics
Comments
Copyright © 2024, Gaddis et al.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 4.0., which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.