228-LB: Obesity Status and Health Information Technology Use in U.S. Adults with Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

One of the many goals of the Affordable Care Act is to improve healthcare quality through the use of technology. However, little is known about health information technology (HIT) use among adults with diabetes. We analyzed data from the National Health Interview Survey (2016-2017) to determine the prevalence of HIT use, and to examine whether HIT use differs by obesity status. All analyses were weighted to account for the complex survey design. We identified 4,857 individuals 18 years or older who had type 2 diabetes by self-report. 45.7% were 65 years or older, 43.3% were female, 14.5% were non-Hispanic black, 15.5% were Hispanic, 18.2% had less than high school education, and 5.0% had no health insurance; mean (SE) body mass index (BMI) was 34.1 (0.25) kg/m2. 28.9% normal weight, 36.7% overweight, and 45.8% obese adults with type 2 diabetes reported looking up health information online. Similarly, electronic health service use (defined as filling a prescription online, scheduling appointment with healthcare provider online, or communicating with healthcare provider by email) were more prevalent in patients with overweight (20.5%) or obesity (25.7%), than those with normal weight (17.7%). After adjustments for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education level, and insurance, compared with adults who had normal weight, the odds ratios (OR) of looking up health information online among overweight and obese adults were 1.32 (95% CI, 1.01-1.74) and 1.65 (95% CI, 1.27-2.15), respectively. The adjusted ORs of using electronic health services were 1.12 (95% CI, 0.81 to 1.55) and 1.46 (95% CI, 1.07-1.99) in overweight and obese adults, respectively. This data showed that HIT is under-utilized among people with diabetes. Still, higher proportion of HIT use in patients with higher BMI suggested HIT may serve as an alternative to more traditional methods of obtaining health information or communicating with health care providers, which in turn may help those with obesity to better manage their weight and comorbidity. Disclosure S. Wang: None. H. Yeh: None.