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Impact of Chronic Disease

The underserved deal with more risk factors.

Underserved populations also have more chronic disease risk factors. For example, living in poverty or being a racial or ethnic minority can cause stress. Stress increases the chance of high blood pressure and heart disease. People with lower incomes also have less money for food. Less expensive foods are usually less healthy and can lead to obesity and diabetes.

The chart below shows five income levels and the percent of obese people in those income levels. Obesity among the poorest group is twice the level of the richest group.

Chart showing the poorest group in the U.S. has 27.3% obesity, the highest has 14.8% obesity.

Source: The CDC's Global Cancer Atlas Online

Hear all about it: The less people can pay for food, the more calories they consume.

Learn how obesity is linked to income in this NPR (National Public Radio) story.

Underserved patients may not have access to healthcare.

Access to healthcare can be a problem for underserved patients. No access can mean that a patient does not have a way to get to medical care. No access can also mean that a patient lives far away from a hospital or medical clinic. The chart below shows the percent of men and women with income below the poverty level who delayed medical care because they did not have transportation.

Chart showing that up to 10% of women and 8% of men have delayed medical care because they had no transportation.

Source: Health, United States, 2007 with The Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans

Chronic disease goes undiagnosed in undeserved populations.

When people cannot get healthcare, diseases can go undiagnosed. This chart shows that one-third of people with diabetes do not know they have it. For these patients, treatment and related complications become even more difficult.

Pie chart showing that 33% of people with diabetes are undiagnosed.

Source: Almanac of Chronic Disease 2008 Edition: Statistics and Commentary on Chronic Disease and Prevention

Let’s Review

Underserved patients have barriers that keep them from getting healthcare. Because of these barriers, underserved people may:

Go without health insurance
Avoid preventive medical care
Be at a higher risk for disease
Not be able to get to medical appointments
Have undiagnosed diseases

The issues that underserved populations deals with are major problems for individuals and our healthcare system. Let’s see what future trends look like for chronic disease. >>>

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