Citizenship and health insurance status predict glycemic management: NHANES data 2007–2016

The prevalence of diabetes in United States (US) immigrants is higher than the general population. Non-citizenship and lack of health insurance have been associated with increased health risks including diabetes, but previous US studies were done in non-representative samples and did not examine the effect on glycemic management. The purpose of this study was to compare demographic, metabolic, and behavioral risk factors for increased blood glucose including citizenship and health insurance status, and determine predictors of poor glycemic management (A1C ≥ 8.0%). Logistic regression was used to analyze data from the 2007–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) of persons with diabetes and available citizenship data ages 30 to 70 years (N = 2702), excluding persons with A1C