OBJECTIVES

Analyze the association between health insurance coverage and the use of health care services, dentist visits, and self-medication in a national sample of Mexican adults aged ≥50 years with diabetes.

METHODS

Participants with diabetes taken from a subsample of the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS-2018) (n = 3667) were examined, with data pertaining to the frequency of their doctor and dentist visits, residence, years of education, self-medication, and health insurance coverage (insured/uninsured) also collected. A logistic regression model was used to identify the association between independent variables and health insurance coverage, whereas Poisson regression models were also estimated to ascertain whether health insurance coverage was associated with the number of doctor and dentist visits.

RESULTS

The prevalence of self-reported diabetes was 24.6%, whereas approximately 93.3% of subjects had visited a doctor, 40.6% had visited a dentist, and 20.3% self-medicated. Individuals with insurance coverage were 75% (Odds ratio [OR] = 1.75 [95% confidence interval {CI}1.32-2.31]; P < 0.001) more likely to have visited a doctor and 57% more likely to have visited a dentist (OR = 1.57 [95% CI 1.35-1.83]; P < 0.001) than uninsured adult subjects, while adults living in rural areas were 77% less likely to be insured than adults living in urban areas. Doctor and dentist visits [rate ratio {RR} = 1.32 (95% CI 1.28-1.35); P < 0.001] and [RR = 1.47 (95% CI 1.37-1.58); P < 0.001, respectively] were found to be positively associated with the insured members of the study population.

CONCLUSION

A positive association was found between doctor and dentist visits in the population insured with diabetes. A major public health challenge is the population of diabetics who report being uninsured, wherein this population requires coverage to access the necessary clinical follow-up and control to prevent complications.