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Research Article

Poor self-rated health in adult patients with type 2 diabetes in the town of Södertälje: A cross-sectional study

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Pages 216-220 | Received 26 Aug 2009, Accepted 08 Jun 2010, Published online: 08 Jul 2010
 

Abstract

Objective. Several studies indicate that ethnicity may be a strong predictor of poor self-rated health (SRH). The aims of the present study were to investigate whether there was an association between ethnicity and poor SRH in subjects with type 2 diabetes and to determine if the association remained after adjusting for possible confounders such as age, gender employment, marital status, and education. Design. A cross-sectional study based on a patient population in the town of Södertälje. An unconditional logistic regression was performed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Setting. Four primary health care centers. Subjects. A total of 354 individuals were included: Assyrian/Syrian-born (n = 173) and Swedish-born (n = 181). Results. The odds ratio for rating poor SRH for Assyrian/Syrian subjects with type 2 diabetes was 4.5 times higher (95% CI = 2.7–7.5) than for Swedish patients in a crude model. After adjusting for possible confounders, unemployed/retired people had 5.4 times higher odds for reporting poor SRH than employees (OR = 5.4; 95% CI = 2.3–12.5). Women had 1.8 times higher odds (95% CI = 1.0–3.0) for reporting poor SRH than men. In the final model poor SRH among Assyrians/Syrians decreased but still remained significant (OR=3.7; 95% CI = 2.5–6.6). Conclusions. The findings in this study are important for planning primary health care services. They highlight the crucial importance of being aware of the subjective health status of immigrants fleeing from war in the Middle East and resettling in Sweden.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the Research Unit in Södertälje, the Swedish Research Council (2008–3110), the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (2007–1754 and 2007–1962), and the Swedish Research Council Formas (2007–1352).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.