Diabetes screening among women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A descriptive study of commercial claims, 2011–2019

TL;DR

This study examines diabetes screening rates and methods among women with PCOS using commercial claims data from 2011 to 2019.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into diabetes screening compliance and test preferences among women with PCOS in the U.S.

Findings

73.40% of women with PCOS were screened for diabetes at least once over five years.

Only 19.24% of screened women used the recommended OGTT test, while 61.58% used A1C.

Screening rates varied by age, obesity, and other health conditions.

Abstract

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder that affects 6–12% of United States women of reproductive age. Women with PCOS are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and fall into high-risk groups according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) screening guidelines. Guidelines further indicate that an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) should be used for diabetes screening in women with PCOS instead of an A1C or fasting plasma glucose test. The purpose of this study is two-fold: 1) to estimate rates of diabetes screening among a nationwide sample of commercially insured women with PCOS and 2) to report the percentage of women screened using each test (OGTT, A1C, fasting plasma glucose) among those who were screened.

We used the MarketScan Commercial Claims database (2011–2019) to identify a sample of women aged 18–64 years with PCOS who were free from diabetes at baseline and had ≥ 5 years of continuous enrollment. PCOS was ascertained using International Classification of Disease diagnosis codes (ICD-9: 256.4; ICD-10: E28.2). Diabetes screening was ascertained using Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes (A1C: 83036, 83037; Fasting blood sugar: 82947; OGTT: 82950). Diabetes screening rates were calculated for the overall study sample as well as across subgroups defined by age, overweight/obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and vascular disease.

In our sample of 191,110 commercially insured women with PCOS, 73.40% were screened at least once for diabetes during a five-year period. Among the women screened, 19.24% were screened using the Androgen Excess Society (AES)-recommended OGTT, 61.58% were screened using A1C, and 23.37% were screened using fasting blood sugar.

Almost 75% of women with PCOS comply with the ACOG screening guidelines for diabetes. However, while the OGTT is recommended as the preferred screening tool for women with PCOS, it was less commonly used than A1C and fasting blood sugar tests.

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