Association Between Neighborhood-Level Deprivation and Disability in a Community Sample of People With Diabetes

OBJECTIVE — The objective of the present study was to analyze the association between neighborhood deprivation and self-reported disability in a community sample of people with type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS — Random digit dialing was used to select a sample of adults with self-reported diabetes aged 18–80 years in Quebec, Canada. Health status was assessed by the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II. Material and social deprivation was measured using the Pampalon index, which is based on the Canadian Census. Potential risk factors for disability included sociodemographic characteristics, socioeco-nomic status, social support, lifestyle-related factors (smoking, physical activity, and BMI), health care–related problems, duration of diabetes, insulin use, and diabetes-specific complications. RESULTS — There was a strong association between disability and material and social depri-vation in our sample (n 1,439): participants living in advantaged neighborhoods had lower levels of disability than participants living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The means SD disability scores for men were 7.8 11.8, 12.0 11.8, and 18.1 19.4 for low, medium, and high deprivation areas, respectively (P 0.001). The disability scores for women were 13.