Age- and sex-specific relationships between household income, education, and diabetes mellitus in Korean adults: the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2008-2010

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 10; no. 1; p. e0117034
• Main Authors: Kim, So-Ra, Han, Kyungdo, Choi, Jin-Young, Ersek, Jennifer, Liu, Junxiu, Jo, Sun-Jin, Lee, Kang-Sook, Yim, Hyeon Woo, Lee, Won-Chul, Park, Yong Gyu, Lee, Seung-Hwan, Park, Yong-Moon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 26.01.2015; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Age; Age Distribution; Age factors; Aged; Alcohol; Alcohol use; Cardiovascular disease; Confidence intervals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Diabetes Mellitus - blood; Diabetes Mellitus - epidemiology; Diabetes therapy; Diet therapy; Education; Educational Status; Epidemiology; Ethnicity; Exercise; Family income; Female; Gender; Glycated Hemoglobin A - metabolism; Health care; Health surveys; Households; Humans; Income; Male; Marital status; Men; Mens health; Metabolic syndrome; Middle age; Middle Aged; Mortality; Nutrition; Nutrition Surveys; Odds Ratio; Personal income; Physical fitness; Population; Prevalence; Preventive medicine; Public health; Quality of life; Quartiles; Regression analysis; Republic of Korea - epidemiology; Risk Factors; Sex; Sex Distribution; Social aspects; Social Class; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomics; Statistical analysis; Womens health
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0117034

To investigate the effects of age and sex on the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and the prevalence and control status of diabetes mellitus (DM) in Korean adults. Data came from 16,175 adults (6,951 men and 9,227 women) over the age of 30 who participated in the 2008-2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. SES was measured by household income or education level. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the prevalence or control status of diabetes were calculated using multiple logistic regression analyses across household income quartiles and education levels. The household income-DM and education level-DM relationships were significant in younger age groups for both men and women. The adjusted ORs and 95% CI for diabetes were 1.51 (0.97, 2.34) and 2.28 (1.29, 4.02) for the lowest vs. highest quartiles of household income and education level, respectively, in women younger than 65 years of age (both P for linear trend < 0.05 with Bonferroni adjustment). The adjusted OR and 95% CI for diabetes was 2.28 (1.53, 3.39) for the lowest vs. highest quartile of household income in men younger than 65 (P for linear trend < 0.05 with Bonferroni adjustment). However, in men and women older than 65, no associations were found between SES and the prevalence of DM. No significant association between SES and the status of glycemic control was detected. We found age- and sex-specific differences in the relationship of household income and education with the prevalence of DM in Korea. DM preventive care is needed for groups with a low SES, particularly in young or middle-aged populations.