ArticleBMC public health2012
Language barrier and its relationship to diabetes and diabetic retinopathy.
Article in BMC public health, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 28 citations in OpenAlex.
- Association between socioeconomic status and diabetic retinopathy in individuals with type 1 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Diabetic retinopathy in Greenland and Denmark-Can differences in risk factors explain the lower prevalence in Greenland?Acta ophthalmologica · 2026Article
- Mobile Eye Units in the United States and Canada: A Narrative Review of Structures, Services and Challenges.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- Complexity and Barriers to Vision Care: A Narrative Review Informed by a Mobile Eye Program.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- The Permissibility of Biased AI in a Biased World: An Ethical Analysis of AI for Screening and Referrals for Diabetic Retinopathy in Singapore.Asian bioethics review · 2025Article
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Reveals Ethnic Disparities in Cataract Detection and Treatment.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2024Article
- Prevalence and associated factors of diabetic retinopathy among people with diabetes screened using fundus photography at a community diabetic retinopathy screening program in Nepal.BMC ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Awareness of Diabetic Retinopathy: Insight From the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.American journal of preventive medicine · 2021Article
- Literature Review of Type 2 Diabetes Management and Health Literacy.Diabetes spectrum : a publication of the American Diabetes Association · 2021Article
- Diabetes-related lower extremity complications in a multi-ethnic Asian population: a 10 year observational study in Singapore.Diabetologia · 2021Observational
- Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy, proliferative diabetic retinopathy and non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy in Asian T2DM patients: a systematic review and Meta-analysis.International journal of ophthalmology · 2019Article
- South Asian Cardiovascular Disease & Cancer Risk: Genetics & Pathophysiology.Journal of community health · 2018Review
- Machine or Human? Evaluating the Quality of a Language Translation Mobile App for Diabetes Education Material.JMIR diabetes · 2017Article
- Migrant adults with diabetes in France: Influence of family migration.Journal of clinical & translational endocrinology · 2017Article
- Epidemiology of diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema and related vision loss.Eye and vision (London, England) · 2015Review
- Examining therapeutic inertia patterns in type 2 diabetes patients with multiple chronic conditions: Time-to-event analysis.Journal of multimorbidity and comorbidityArticle
- Sociodemographic and Economic Factors in Outcomes of Tube Shunts for Neovascular Glaucoma.Journal of current glaucoma practiceArticle
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLanguage barrier is an important determinant of health care access and health. We examined the associations of English proficiency with type-2 diabetes (T2DM) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Asian Indians living in Singapore, an urban city where English is the predominant language of communication.
methodsThis was a population-based, cross-sectional study. T2DM was defined as HbA1c ≥6.5%, use of diabetic medication or a physician diagnosis of diabetes. Retinal photographs were graded for the severity of DR including vision-threatening DR (VTDR). Presenting visual impairment (VI) was defined as LogMAR visual acuity > 0.30 in the better-seeing eye. English proficiency at the time of interview was assessed.
resultsThe analyses included 2,289 (72.1%) English-speaking and 885 (27.9%) Tamil-speaking Indians. Tamil-speaking Indians had significantly higher prevalence of T2DM (46.2 vs. 34.7%, p < 0.001) and, among those with diabetes, higher prevalence of DR (36.0 vs. 30.6%, p < 0.001), VTDR (11.0 vs. 6.5%, p < 0.001), and VI (32.4 vs. 14.6%) than English speaking Indians. Oaxaca decomposition analyses showed that the language-related discrepancies (defined as the difference in prevalence between persons speaking different languages) in T2DM, DR, and VTDR could not be fully explained by socioeconomic measures.
conclusionsIn an English dominant society, Tamil-speaking Indians are more likely to have T2DM and diabetic retinopathy. Social policies and health interventions that address language-related health disparities may help reduce the public health impact of T2DM in societies with heterogeneous populations.
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