Language barrier and its relationship to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Language barrier is an important determinant of health care access and health. We examined the associations of English proficiency with type-2 diabetes (T2DM) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Asian Indians living in Singapore, an urb...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2012-09-01
|
| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/781 |
| _version_ | 1818391457681113088 |
|---|---|
| author | Zheng Yingfeng Lamoureux Ecosse L Chiang Pei-Chia Anuar Ainur Ding Jie Wang Jie Mitchell Paul Tai E-Shyong Wong Tien Y |
| author_facet | Zheng Yingfeng Lamoureux Ecosse L Chiang Pei-Chia Anuar Ainur Ding Jie Wang Jie Mitchell Paul Tai E-Shyong Wong Tien Y |
| author_sort | Zheng Yingfeng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Language barrier is an important determinant of health care access and health. We examined the associations of English proficiency with type-2 diabetes (T2DM) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Asian Indians living in Singapore, an urban city where English is the predominant language of communication.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a population-based, cross-sectional study. T2DM was defined as HbA1c ≥6.5%, use of diabetic medication or a physician diagnosis of diabetes. Retinal photographs were graded for the severity of DR including vision-threatening DR (VTDR). Presenting visual impairment (VI) was defined as LogMAR visual acuity > 0.30 in the better-seeing eye. English proficiency at the time of interview was assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The analyses included 2,289 (72.1%) English-speaking and 885 (27.9%) Tamil- speaking Indians. Tamil-speaking Indians had significantly higher prevalence of T2DM (46.2 vs. 34.7%, p < 0.001) and, among those with diabetes, higher prevalence of DR (36.0 vs. 30.6%, p < 0.001), VTDR (11.0 vs. 6.5%, p < 0.001), and VI (32.4 vs. 14.6%) than English speaking Indians. Oaxaca decomposition analyses showed that the language-related discrepancies (defined as the difference in prevalence between persons speaking different languages) in T2DM, DR, and VTDR could not be fully explained by socioeconomic measures.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In an English dominant society, Tamil-speaking Indians are more likely to have T2DM and diabetic retinopathy. Social policies and health interventions that address language-related health disparities may help reduce the public health impact of T2DM in societies with heterogeneous populations.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T05:13:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ef27ec98ef834ba1980a1ae9b21719eb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T05:13:50Z |
| publishDate | 2012-09-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-ef27ec98ef834ba1980a1ae9b21719eb2022-12-21T23:15:54ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582012-09-0112178110.1186/1471-2458-12-781Language barrier and its relationship to diabetes and diabetic retinopathyZheng YingfengLamoureux Ecosse LChiang Pei-ChiaAnuar AinurDing JieWang JieMitchell PaulTai E-ShyongWong Tien Y<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Language barrier is an important determinant of health care access and health. We examined the associations of English proficiency with type-2 diabetes (T2DM) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Asian Indians living in Singapore, an urban city where English is the predominant language of communication.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a population-based, cross-sectional study. T2DM was defined as HbA1c ≥6.5%, use of diabetic medication or a physician diagnosis of diabetes. Retinal photographs were graded for the severity of DR including vision-threatening DR (VTDR). Presenting visual impairment (VI) was defined as LogMAR visual acuity > 0.30 in the better-seeing eye. English proficiency at the time of interview was assessed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The analyses included 2,289 (72.1%) English-speaking and 885 (27.9%) Tamil- speaking Indians. Tamil-speaking Indians had significantly higher prevalence of T2DM (46.2 vs. 34.7%, p < 0.001) and, among those with diabetes, higher prevalence of DR (36.0 vs. 30.6%, p < 0.001), VTDR (11.0 vs. 6.5%, p < 0.001), and VI (32.4 vs. 14.6%) than English speaking Indians. Oaxaca decomposition analyses showed that the language-related discrepancies (defined as the difference in prevalence between persons speaking different languages) in T2DM, DR, and VTDR could not be fully explained by socioeconomic measures.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In an English dominant society, Tamil-speaking Indians are more likely to have T2DM and diabetic retinopathy. Social policies and health interventions that address language-related health disparities may help reduce the public health impact of T2DM in societies with heterogeneous populations.</p>http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/781English proficiencyAsian indiansDiabetesDiabetic retinopathyVisual impairment |
| spellingShingle | Zheng Yingfeng Lamoureux Ecosse L Chiang Pei-Chia Anuar Ainur Ding Jie Wang Jie Mitchell Paul Tai E-Shyong Wong Tien Y Language barrier and its relationship to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy BMC Public Health English proficiency Asian indians Diabetes Diabetic retinopathy Visual impairment |
| title | Language barrier and its relationship to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy |
| title_full | Language barrier and its relationship to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy |
| title_fullStr | Language barrier and its relationship to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Language barrier and its relationship to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy |
| title_short | Language barrier and its relationship to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy |
| title_sort | language barrier and its relationship to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy |
| topic | English proficiency Asian indians Diabetes Diabetic retinopathy Visual impairment |
| url | http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/781 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zhengyingfeng languagebarrieranditsrelationshiptodiabetesanddiabeticretinopathy AT lamoureuxecossel languagebarrieranditsrelationshiptodiabetesanddiabeticretinopathy AT chiangpeichia languagebarrieranditsrelationshiptodiabetesanddiabeticretinopathy AT anuarainur languagebarrieranditsrelationshiptodiabetesanddiabeticretinopathy AT dingjie languagebarrieranditsrelationshiptodiabetesanddiabeticretinopathy AT wangjie languagebarrieranditsrelationshiptodiabetesanddiabeticretinopathy AT mitchellpaul languagebarrieranditsrelationshiptodiabetesanddiabeticretinopathy AT taieshyong languagebarrieranditsrelationshiptodiabetesanddiabeticretinopathy AT wongtieny languagebarrieranditsrelationshiptodiabetesanddiabeticretinopathy |