TY - JOUR

T1 - Social inequality in type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Faroe Islands

T2 - a cross-sectional study

AU - Honnudottir, Var

AU - Hansen, Louise

AU - Veyhe, Anna Sofia

AU - Andersen, Ingelise

AU - Weihe, Pal

AU - Strom, Marin

AU - Mohr, Magni

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Aims: The Faroe Islands is considered a homogeneous society and has a low Gini coefficient, but the knowledge about the social distribution of health and disease is sparse. In a large population-based sample we investigated: (a) the association between socioeconomic position defined by level of education and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus by self-report in the Faroe Islands; and (b) to what degree lifestyle factors mediate the association. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the population-based Public Health Survey Faroes 2015 (n=1095). We present odds ratios for type 2 diabetes mellitus by socioeconomic position from logistic regression models. In our main model we adjusted for potential confounders and in a secondary model we additionally adjusted for potential mediating lifestyle factors. Results: Individuals with middle and low levels of education display higher odds ratios of type 2 diabetes mellitus of 2.80 (95% confidence interval 1.32-5.92) and 4.65 (95% confidence interval 1.93-11.17) in adjusted analysis, respectively, compared to their counterparts with high education. After adjustment for potentially mediating lifestyle factors the estimates were attenuated slightly, but a significant statistical association remained, with lifestyle-related mediating factors in total explaining 21% for middle education and 34% for low education participants. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that there may be a social gradient in the distribution of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Faroe Islands, and that the association is partly mediated by lifestyle factors.

AB - Aims: The Faroe Islands is considered a homogeneous society and has a low Gini coefficient, but the knowledge about the social distribution of health and disease is sparse. In a large population-based sample we investigated: (a) the association between socioeconomic position defined by level of education and the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus by self-report in the Faroe Islands; and (b) to what degree lifestyle factors mediate the association. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from the population-based Public Health Survey Faroes 2015 (n=1095). We present odds ratios for type 2 diabetes mellitus by socioeconomic position from logistic regression models. In our main model we adjusted for potential confounders and in a secondary model we additionally adjusted for potential mediating lifestyle factors. Results: Individuals with middle and low levels of education display higher odds ratios of type 2 diabetes mellitus of 2.80 (95% confidence interval 1.32-5.92) and 4.65 (95% confidence interval 1.93-11.17) in adjusted analysis, respectively, compared to their counterparts with high education. After adjustment for potentially mediating lifestyle factors the estimates were attenuated slightly, but a significant statistical association remained, with lifestyle-related mediating factors in total explaining 21% for middle education and 34% for low education participants. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that there may be a social gradient in the distribution of type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Faroe Islands, and that the association is partly mediated by lifestyle factors.

KW - Social inequality

KW - health

KW - type 2 diabetes

KW - socioeconomic position

KW - cross-sectional study

KW - SOCIOECONOMIC POSITION

KW - LIFE-STYLE

KW - RISK

KW - PREVALENCE

U2 - 10.1177/14034948211013267

DO - 10.1177/14034948211013267

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34058890

VL - 50

SP - 638

EP - 645

JO - Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Supplement

JF - Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Supplement

SN - 1403-4956

IS - 5

ER -