Racial and ethnic disparities in the pharmacologic management of diabetes mellitus among long-term care facility residents.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of racial and ethnic disparities of antidiabetic treatment among residents of long-term care facilities in five states.

Research Design And Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional study of 50,427 elderly nursing home residents with diabetes in New York, South Dakota, Kansas, Mississippi, and Ohio between 1993 and 1997.

Results: Thirty to fifty percent of residents received no antidiabetic medications.