Demographic and regional disparities in insulin pump utilization in a setting of universal funding: a New Zealand nationwide study.

AIMS: Insulin pumps have been publically funded in New Zealand since 2012 for patients who meet certain clinical criteria; however, the patterns of utilization have not been described. We undertook a nationwide study to estimate the annual proportions of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus who used a pump between 2012 and 2014, overall, and according to sex, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic position, and region.

METHODS: We used data from the New Zealand Virtual Diabetes Register and routinely collected national demographic, health, and pharmaceutical dispensing data from the Ministry of Health to identify patients with type 1 diabetes and to calculate the overall, and subgroup, proportions using pumps.

RESULTS: Between 2012 and 2014, funded pump use among patients with type 1 diabetes (n = 13,727) increased from 1.8 to 9.3 % overall; however, there were differences in uptake according to demographic characteristics and region. In 2014, proportionate pump use was significantly higher in females versus males (adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.0 [95 % confidence interval 1.8-2.3]), in those aged <20 years, and in some regions. Māori (indigenous people), Pacific, and Asian patients were significantly less likely to use pumps than New Zealand Europeans (ORs 0.30 [0.23-0.41], 0.26 [0.14-0.46], 0.22 [0.14-0.35], respectively), as were those in the most versus the least deprived socioeconomic decile (OR 0.36 [0.25-0.52]).

CONCLUSIONS: It is essential to explore the factors driving differential insulin pump uptake, in both New Zealand and elsewhere, if all patients are to have equal opportunity to benefit from intensive diabetes management.