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Maeda T, Nishi T, Harada M, Tanno K, Nishiya N, Asayama K, Okuda N, Sugiyama D, Yatsuya H, Okayama A, Arima H. Influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on regular clinic visits and medication prescriptions among people with diabetes: Retrospective cohort analysis of health care claims. Medicine (Baltimore) 2022; 101:e29458. [PMID: 35866768 PMCID: PMC9302258 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000029458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on regular clinic visits among people with diabetes and to elucidate the factors related to visit patterns among these patients during the pandemic. This was a longitudinal study using anonymized insurance claims data from the Joint Health Insurance Society in Tokyo from October 2017 to September 2020. First, we identified patients with diabetes who were fully enrolled in the health plan from fiscal year 2017 until September 2020 and who were regularly receiving glucose-lowering medications (every 1-3 months) from October 2017 to September 2018. We divided follow-up into the pre-pandemic period (October 2018 to March 2020) and the pandemic period (April 2020 to September 2020). A multilevel logistic regression model was used to determine the risks of delayed clinic visits/medication prescriptions (i.e., >3 months after a previous visit/prescription) during the pandemic period. We identified 1118 study participants. The number of delayed clinic visits/medication prescriptions during the pre-pandemic and pandemic periods was 188/3354 (5.6%) and 125/1118 (11.2%), respectively. There was a significant increase in delayed clinic visits during the pandemic (adjusted odds ratio 3.68 (95% confidence interval 2.24 to 6.04, P < .001), even after controlling for confounding factors. We also found a significant interaction between sex and delayed visits; women had significantly fewer clinic visits during the COVID-19 pandemic than men. We clarified the relationship of the COVID-19 pandemic with delays in regular clinic visits and medication prescriptions among people with diabetes. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic differed between men and women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshiki Maeda
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan
- *Correspondence: Toshiki Maeda, Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, 8-19-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka 814-0180, Japan (e-mail: )
| | - Takumi Nishi
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Department of Research Planning and Information Management, Fukuoka Institute of Health and Environmental Sciences, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Masataka Harada
- Department of Industrial Economics, Faculty of Economics, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Kozo Tanno
- Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Iwate, Japan
- Iwate Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Iwate Medical University, Morioka Iwate, Japan
| | - Naoyuki Nishiya
- Iwate Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization, Iwate Medical University, Morioka Iwate, Japan
- Division of Integrated Information for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Iwate Medical University School of Pharmacy, Iwate, Japan
| | - Kei Asayama
- Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
- KU Leuven Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Tohoku Institute for Management of Blood Pressure, Sendai, Japan
| | - Nagako Okuda
- Department of Health Science, Kyoto Prefectural University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Daisuke Sugiyama
- Faculty of Nursing And Medical Care, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Yatsuya
- Department of Public Health and Health Systems, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Aichi, Japan
| | - Akira Okayama
- Research Institute of Strategy for Prevention, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hisatomi Arima
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan
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