Table 1.
Patient Demographic and Clinical Characteristics
| Internet Users (N=308) | Internet Users (N=308) | P Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean age, y (SD) | 59.0 (11.3) | 70.0 (11.2) | <.001 |
| Diabetes duration, y (SD) | 8.3 (6.7) | 10.3 (8.2) | <.001 |
| Women, n (%) | 118 (38) | 317 (54) | <.001 |
| Race, n (%) | |||
| White | 257 (84) | 484 (83) | .09 |
| African-American | 31 (10) | 50 (9) | |
| Hispanic | 4 (1) | 24 (4) | |
| Other/not recorded | 14 (5) | 27 (5) | |
| English fluency, n (%) | 304 (99) | 570 (97) | .1 |
| Marital status, n (%) | |||
| Married/partnered | 198 (64) | 282 (49) | <.001 |
| Widowed | 17 (6) | 127 (22) | |
| Single/divorced | 91 (30) | 172 (30) | |
| Level of education, n (%) | |||
| 11th grade or less | 12 (4) | 184 (31) | <.001 |
| 12th or GED | 78 (25) | 244 (42) | |
| Any college | 217 (71) | 156 (27) | |
| Employment status, n (%) | |||
| Employed | 170 (55) | 141 (24) | <.001 |
| Unemployed | 35 (11) | 74 (13) | |
| Retired | 101 (33) | 369 (63) | |
| Primary insurer, n (%) | |||
| Medicare | 103 (33) | 428 (73) | <.001 |
| Managed care | 59 (19) | 31 (5) | |
| Private | 118 (38) | 65 (11) | |
| Self-pay/Medicaid | 28 (9) | 64 (11) | |
| Total number of medicines (SD) | 3.5 (4.5) | 4.8 (5.1) | < .001 |
| Hemoglobin A1c, % (SD) | 7.5 (1.5) | 7.4 (1.4) | .2 |
| Blood pressure, mm Hg (SD) | 129 (15)/77 (9) | 134 (17)/75 (10) | <.01 |
| Cholesterol, mg/dl (SD) | 179.7 (38.5) | 169.4 (35.7) | <.001 |
| LDL, mg/dl (SD) | 98.5 (30.8) | 92.4 (20.0) | .004 |
| BMI, kg/m2 (SD) | 32.9 (7.3) | 31.4 (6.6) | .008 |
Numbers are means and standard deviations, or number and column percent; Due to rounding, percentages may not add to 100; P values compare Internet users versus nonusers by t test or χ2 test.
SD, standard deviation; GED, General Equivalency Exam (costs are $US); LDL, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; BMI, body mass index.