Educational achievements, employment and social class of insulin-dependent diabetics: a survey of a young adult clinic in Liverpool.
The educational achievements, current employment, and social class of 137 diabetic patients aged 20.9 +/- 3.0 years (mean +/- SD), attending a Young Adult Diabetic clinic in North Liverpool were surveyed. The duration of diabetes was 7.8 +/- 5.0 years. Patients who developed diabetes in childhood (age at diagnosis less than 13 years) were more likely to have achieved educational qualifications, be employed, and be of social class I or II than those developing diabetes aged 13-25 years. Compared with non-diabetic young adults from North Liverpool, diabetics achieved similar educational qualifications and were as likely to be employed after leaving full-time education. This is an encouraging finding in the present harsh economic climate. The clustering of social classes I and II in childhood diabetics found in this study requires a larger epidemiological study of social class and insulin-dependent diabetes for confirmation.
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004493:Education; D004651:Employment; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors