Prevalence of patients treated with anti-diabetic medicine in Greenland and Denmark. A cross-sectional register study
Diabetes mellitus is a large and growing worldwide health issue. Prior to this publication, a direct comparison of the prevalence of persons treated with anti-diabetic medicine in Greenland and Denmark has not been found. Therefore, the aim of this study is to estimate and compare the age- and gende...
| Published in: | International Journal of Circumpolar Health |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/prevalence-of-patients-treated-with-antidiabetic-medicine-in-greenland-and-denmark-a-crosssectional-register-study(89541d7e-53b4-4c1e-b03e-9818aa098e84).html https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2018.1542930 |
| Summary: | Diabetes mellitus is a large and growing worldwide health issue. Prior to this publication, a direct comparison of the prevalence of persons treated with anti-diabetic medicine in Greenland and Denmark has not been found. Therefore, the aim of this study is to estimate and compare the age- and gender-specific prevalence of patients treated with anti-diabetic medicine comparing Greenland and Denmark. The study was performed as a cross-sectional register study using data from population and medical registers in Greenland and Denmark. A total of 784 Greenlandic and 215,580 Danish patients treated with anti-diabetic medicine were included. The prevalence of patients aged 20-79 years treated with anti-diabetic medicine in Greenland was 2.6% (95% CI 2.4-2.8), much lower (p < 0.001) compared to Denmark with 5.2% (95% CI 5.2-5.2). The difference was less pronounced after excluding those treated with insulin and women below 45 years treated with metformin. In conclusion, this study showed a lower prevalence of patients treated with anti-diabetic medicine in Greenland than Denmark. The main reason may be a much higher prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes in Greenland, particularly among the middle-aged. Differences in awareness of diabetes and access to continued primary healthcare may be contributing factors. |
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