During the global coronavirus pandemic, racial and ethnic minorities with diabetes and multiple chronic conditions had a difficult time accessing routine care. John M. Clements, assistant professor of public health in the College of Human Medicine, looks at three time periods during the pandemic to better understand trends in care, inform an equitable public health response, and improve access to care.
According to the International Diabetes Federation, approximately 537 million adults worldwide were living with diabetes, with 6.7 million deaths worldwide attributed to diabetes in 2021. Diabetes is one of the top 10 leading causes of death in the United States.
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., the mortality rate from diabetes rose by about 13.8%, while in the State of Michigan, the mortality rate rose by 18.5%, an increase higher than any other chronic disease that is a leading cause of death.
Some of Clements’ previous research shows that over 30% of Medicare beneficiaries that are over 65 in the State of Michigan have type 2 diabetes. But most people with diabetes never have diabetes alone. His research focuses on multiple chronic conditions, and he considers the leading chronic causes of death in people with diabetes and how these combinations of illnesses affect outcomes.
To read more, visit the Division of Public Health website.
November is American Diabetes Month.