Racial disparities in diabetes care and outcomes for people with visual impairment: a descriptive analysis of the TriNetX research network

TL;DR

This study finds that people with visual impairment and diabetes face racial disparities in care and outcomes, especially among White and African American groups.

Contribution

The study reveals how visual impairment interacts with race to affect diabetes management and health outcomes using a large-scale medical record network.

Findings

Diabetes prevalence is nearly doubled in visually impaired individuals across White, Asian, and African American populations.

Higher rates of chronic kidney disease were observed in visually impaired individuals, with significant risk ratios for White and African American groups.

Testing disparities for A1c and GFR were found, with White individuals less likely to receive tests and African Americans with visual impairment more likely to receive both.

Abstract

This research delves into the confluence of racial disparities and health inequities among individuals with disabilities, with a focus on those contending with both diabetes and visual impairment.

Utilizing data from the TriNetX Research Network, which includes electronic medical records of roughly 115 million patients from 83 anonymous healthcare organizations, this study employs a directed acyclic graph (DAG) to pinpoint confounders and augment interpretation. We identified people with visual impairments using ICD-10 codes, deliberately excluding diabetes-related ophthalmology complications. Our approach involved multiple race-stratified analyses, comparing co-morbidities like chronic pulmonary disease in visually impaired patients against their counterparts. We assessed healthcare access disparities by examining the frequency of annual visits, instances of two or more A1c measurements, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measurements. Additionally, we evaluated diabetes outcomes by comparing the risk ratio of uncontrolled diabetes (A1c > 9.0) and chronic kidney disease in patients with and without visual impairments.

The prevalence of diabetes was nearly doubled in individuals with visual impairments across White, Asian, and African American populations. Higher rates of chronic kidney disease were observed in visually impaired individuals, with a risk ratio of 1.731 for African Americans, 2.252 for White, and non-significant for the Asian group. A statistically significant difference in the risk ratio for uncontrolled diabetes was found only in the White cohort with one GFR reading (1.042). White individuals without visual impairments were less likely to receive an A1C test or a GFR test, while African American individuals with visual impairment were more likely to get both. Differences in testing were not significant for the Asian population.

This study uncovers pronounced disparities in diabetes prevalence and management among individuals with visual impairments who seek care, particularly among White and African American groups. Our DAG analysis illuminates the intricate interplay between SDoH, healthcare access, and frequency of crucial diabetes monitoring practices, highlighting visual impairment as both a medical and social issue.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-23606-2.

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