How Do Socioeconomic Factors Such as Income, Education Level, and Access to Healthcare Influence the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome, and How Does This Relationship Impact the Risk and Progression of Diabetes in the United States?

This project will study how socioeconomic factors such as income, education level, and access to healthcare influence the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. It will also analyze how this relationship impacts the risk and progression of diabetes in the United States. This is worth studying because metabolic syndrome and the progression of diabetes is becoming more prominent in the United States. I will use the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to collect data on income, education, employment status, job security and benefits, healthcare access, housing, transportation, food security, age, gender, race/ethnicity, physical activity and diet. I will also include individual fixed effects of interviewees who didn’t have a disability then later developed one. This will allow me to look at factors that contribute to the onset of diabetes over time. While numerous research has been done on this topic, I hope my results will support policy changes in the United States to better our health care resources and education.