title: Diabetes self-management education improves medication utilization and retinopathy screening in the elderly.
abstract: To evaluate the effect of diabetes education program attendance, which provides patients with diabetes self-management education, on prescriptions for cardiovascular risk reduction, prescriptions for diabetes treatments, and visits for retinopathy screening.
  
  
  
  A population based cohort study of residents of Ontario, Canada with diagnosed diabetes aged ≥65 years was performed using administrative databases. Diabetes education program attendance was identified using a registry of visits to all diabetes education programs in the province in 2006. Using propensity score methods, 22,606 diabetes education program attendees were matched to an equal number of non-attendees. The proportions of patients with prescriptions filled and with ophthalmology/optometry visits were compared.
  
  
  
  Patients attending diabetes education programs had greater utilization of statins (70.6%) than non-attendees (69.4%, p<0.0001). Diabetes education program attendance was also associated with greater utilization of glucose lowering medications (83.7% vs. 82.0%, p<0.0001), antihypertensive medications (90.2% vs. 89.7%, p<0.0001), angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor blockers (79.8% vs. 78.9% p<0.0001), and glucose monitoring strips (82.2% vs. 65.6%, p<0.0001); and visits to ophthalmology/optometry (78.7% vs. 72.7%, p<0.0001).
  
  
  
  Diabetes self-management education at diabetes education programs is associated with better quality of care in the elderly in Ontario.
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada; Department of Medicine, Health Sciences Centre, Eastern Health, St. John's, NL, Canada. Electronic address: cathy.murray@med.mun.ca.
authors.forename: Cathy M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Baiju R
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Shah
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015190:Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016208:Databases, Factual; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D055118:Medication Adherence; D009864:Ontario; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D057216:Propensity Score; D058996:Quality Improvement; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012042:Registries; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D007004:Hypoglycemic Agents
keywords: Diabetes; Diabetes self-management education; Drug utilization; Elderly; Statins