title: Racial/ethnic- and education-related disparities in the control of risk factors for cardiovascular disease among individuals with diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is limited information on whether recent improvements in the control of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among individuals with diabetes have been concentrated in particular sociodemographic groups. This article estimates racial/ethnic- and education-related disparities and examines trends in uncontrolled CVD risk factors among adults with diabetes. The main racial/ethnic comparisons made are with African Americans versus non-Latino whites and Mexican Americans versus non-Latino whites.
  
  
  METHODS
  The analysis samples include adults aged ≥20 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1988-1994 and the NHANES 1999-2008 who self-reported having diabetes (n = 1,065, NHANES 1988-1994; n = 1,872, NHANES 1999-2008). By use of logistic regression models, we examined the correlates of binary indicators measuring 1) high blood glucose, 2) high blood pressure, 3) high cholesterol, and 4) smoking.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Control of blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol improved among individuals with diabetes between the NHANES 1988-1994 and the NHANES 1999-2008, but there was no change in smoking prevalence. In the NHANES 1999-2008, racial/ethnic minorities and individuals without some college education were more likely to have poorly controlled blood glucose compared with non-Latino whites and those with some college education. In addition, individuals with diabetes who had at least some college education were less likely to smoke and had better blood pressure control compared with individuals with diabetes without at least some college education.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Trends in CVD risk factors among individuals with diabetes improved over the past 2 decades, but racial/ethnic- and education-related disparities have emerged in some areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, New York, USA. pchatterji@albany.edu
authors.forename: Pinka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chatterji
authors.forename: Heesoo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: Kajal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lahiri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000208:ethnology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000196:embryology* / Q000208:ethnology; D004522:Educational Status; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors