These researchers analysed data from the New Zealand Virtual Diabetes Register and national demographic, health, and pharmaceutical dispensing data from the Ministry of Health, in order to identify patients with type 1 diabetes and assess patterns of funded insulin pump use between 2012 and 2014. Among the 13,727 patients included in this analysis, funded pump use increased from 1.8% in 2012 to 93% in 2014; uptake differed according to demographic characteristics and region. In 2014, proportionate pump use was significantly higher in females compared with males (adjusted OR 2.0; 95% CI, 1.8 to 2.3), in those aged <20 years, and in some regions. Compared with New Zealand Europeans, pumps were significantly less likely to be used by Māori (OR 0.30; 95% CI, 0.23 to 0.41), Pacific (OR 0.26; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.46), and Asian patients (OR 0.22; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.35). Similarly, pump uptake was lower in the most deprived socioeconomic decile compared with the least deprived areas (OR 0.36; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.52).
