The association between neighbourhood deprivation and self-reported disability was assessed in a community sample of 1439 adults (18–80 years) with self-reported type 2 diabetes living in Quebec, Canada. A strong association existed between disability and material and social deprivation: individuals living in advantaged neighbourhoods had lower levels of disability than those from disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Mean disability scores for men were 7.8, 12.0, and 18.1 for low, medium, and high deprivation areas, respectively (p<0.001); corresponding values for women were 13.4, 14.8, and 18.9, respectively (p<0.01). Neighbourhood deprivation was associated with disability even after controlling for education, household income, socio-demographic characteristics, race, lifestyle-related behaviors, social support, diabetes-related variables, and health care access problems.
