Rai P, Sahadevan P, Mensegere AL, Issac TG, Muniz‐Terrera G, Sundarakumar JS. Rural-urban disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension and diabetes among aging Indians.
Alzheimers Dement 2024;
20:2943-2951. [PMID:
38460118 PMCID:
PMC11032561 DOI:
10.1002/alz.13771]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Hypertension and diabetes are modifiable risk factors for dementia. We aimed to assess rural-urban disparities in the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions among aging Indians.
METHODS
Participants (n = 6316) were from two parallel, prospective aging cohorts in rural and urban India. Using self-report and clinical/biochemical assessments, we subdivided participants with diabetes and hypertension into undiagnosed and untreated groups. Logistic regression and Fairlie decomposition analysis were the statistical methods utilized.
RESULTS
There was a significant rural-urban disparity in undiagnosed hypertension (25.14%), untreated hypertension (11.75%), undiagnosed diabetes (16.94%), and untreated diabetes (11.62%). Further, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, such as age and tobacco use were the common contributors to the disparities in both undiagnosed hypertension and undiagnosed diabetes, whereas education and body mass index (BMI) were significant contributors to the disparity in untreated hypertension.
DISCUSSION
Rural Indians face significant healthcare disadvantages as compared to their urban counterparts, which prompts the urgent need for strategies for equitable healthcare.
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