Diabetes care cascade in Chile

Diabetes care cascade in Chile: a serial cross-sectional study of national health surveys 2003-2010-2017

Sample characteristics

Response rates for the total sample were 63%, 75% and 67% in 2003, 2010 and 2017 respectively. Overall, 3614, 5267 and 6074 adults took part in the ENS 2003, 2010, and 2017 surveys, respectively. Of these, 3448 (95%), 4863 (92%) and 5379 (86%) adults took part in the nurse visit and 3187,4663 and 4862 had valid blood glucose level.

Figure 1: Flow diagram of participants in the study, National Health Survey, Chile, 2003–2010-2017

Table 1: shows the sociodemographic profile and average levels of YY in each survey year amongst the ZZZ participants aged 17 years or over with valid YY and medicine data. Characteristics were similar across the three surveys, with the exception of an increase over time in the proportion of participants in the highest educational group (>12 years of formal education).

Table 1: Descriptive of participants in the study, National Health Survey, Chile, 2003–2010-2017

Diabetes and its care cascade (awareness, treatment and control)

Figure 2: shows the levels of Diabetes and levels of attainment at each care cascade step (awareness, treatment, and control) across the three surveys. The estimates and accompanying 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) are provided as supplementary data (Additional file 1: Table S1). For brevity, we report here on the change between the first- and last-surveys (i.e. 2003 and 2017). Among all adults, Diabetes prevalence decreased slightly from 6.8 % (95% CI: 5.7 - 7.8) 13.1 % (95% CI: 11.7 - 14.5). Diabetes prevalence decreased among males from % (95% CI: - ) to % (95% CI: - ) and decreased among females from % (95% CI: - ) to % (95% CI: - ).

Figure 2: Diabetes prevalence, awareness, treatment and control by gender. Chile ENS2003-2010-2017

Definitions according to the xxx guideline. Prevalence: blood glucosa>=126 mg/dl or self-reported medical diagnosis of diabetes mellitus; Awareness: prior diagnosis of diabetes mellitus; Treatment: current use of medication for the treatment of diabetes according to ATC codes; and Control: Glycated hemoglobin<7%. Levels of Diabetes estimated among all adults. Levels of awareness, treatment and control estimated amongst those classified as Diabetic.

Among those classified as Diabetic, attainment at each cascade step mainly showed improvement. Levels of treated- and controlled-Diabetes were significantly higher in 2017 than in 2003 (65% versus 41% for treatment, P < 0.001; 34% versus 14% for control, P < 0.001), while levels of awareness were stable (66% versus 59%, P = 0.130) (Figure 1; Additional file 1: Table S1). Trends were similar by gender. First, levels of awareness among males increased from 45.6% (95% CI: 39.9-51.4%) to 58.1% (95% CI: 52.2-63.8%); levels were higher among females but remained stable at around 73%. Second, levels of treatment among males increased from 24.3% (95% CI: 19.9-29.3%) to 56.7% (95% CI: 50.9-62.4%) and increased among females from 54.9% (95% CI: 49.5-60.1%) to 73.5% (95% CI: 68.4-78.0%). Third, levels of controlled Diabetes among males increased from 6.3% (95% CI: 3.8-10.3%) to 28.2% (95% CI: 23.0-33.9%) and increased among females from 19.9% (95% CI: 15.9-24.7%) to 39.7% (95% CI: 34.7-45.0%).

Next