Abstract
Background: In many countries diabetes-mellitus (DM) is a leading cause for end-stage renal-failure (ESRF). The objective of the current study is to demonstrate the use of computerized medical records to describe the association between the prevalence of ESRF patient needing dialysis and DM by using data from both types of patient populations.
Methods: Data from an Israeli HMO were used to identify 57,030 DM-patients and 647 ESRF-patients. Nearly one-third (30.8%) of the ESRF patients had DM.
Results: ESRF-patients <35 years had a 45-fold higher prevalence of DM compared to the general population. Overall, ESRF women had a weighted prevalence rate of 3.11 (95% CI, 2.63–3.68) for diabetes; a significantly lower prevalence rate of 2.03 was calculated for men (95% CI, 1.75–2.36; P<0.05).
Conclusions: The present study demonstrates the potential of harnessing large computerized medical databases to provide epidemiological data about the association of important chronic diseases which can be used to explore and improve the quality of disease management of DM and ESRF patients, and for health service planning and research.
- Received September 11, 2008.
