Objectives: We used data from the National Health Interview Survey (1997-2002) to examine the association between education and the prevalence of diabetes in US adults and whether this relation differs by race/ethnicity.
Methods: The analyses were limited to non-Hispanic Blacks, non-Hispanic Whites, and Hispanics. SUDAAN was used to account for the complex sampling design.
Results: Educational attainment was inversely associated with the prevalence of diabetes. Individuals with less than a high-school diploma were 1.6 (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.4, 1.8) times more likely to have diabetes than those with at least a bachelor's degree. Whites and Hispanics exhibited a significant relation between diabetes and having less than a high-school education (odds ratio [OR]=1.7; 95% CI=1.5, 2.0; and OR=1.6; 95% CI=1.1, 2.3, respectively). In addition, the odds of having diabetes was stronger for women (OR=1.9; 95% CI=1.6, 2.4) than for men (OR=1.4; 95% CI=1.1, 1.6)
Conclusions: Educational attainment was inversely associated with diabetes prevalence among Whites, Hispanics, and women but not among Blacks. Education may have a different effect on diabetes health among different racial/ethnic groups.