A Brief Note On Diabetes And Non Hispanic Blacks

The incidences of diabetes are growing annually, and predicted to increase within the coming decades. The number of cases yearly is not only increasing, but the age of onset for diabetes has decreased. This means more individuals are developing diabetes at an earlier age. Diabetes not only affects individuals and communities but countries as well. The prevalence of diabetes has gathered billions of dollars in healthcare costs. [1]Type 2 diabetes also leads to other serious medical conditions such as heart disease, renal failure, blindness, and tissue damage in extremities that will eventually lead to amputation. These illnesses, as a result, result in further costs in the form of disability and the loss of a portion of our workforce. However, incidences of type 2 diabetes are in higher occurrence amongst Hispanic groups. According to the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, Mexican Americans have an unusually high prevalence of diabetes compared to that of the general population [2]. Hispanic females have the highest lifetime risk of becoming diabetic – 52% [3], compared to that of the average risk of

Diabetes  is a serious health condition that is a chronic illness for the African Americans. Diabetes preventions strategies in African American community can be a tricky task to contain and prevent for several reasons I will discuss in this paper.

According to the American Diabetes Association, more Americans die each year from diabetes than from AIDS and breast cancer combined. As a result, researchers have extensively studied the causes, treatments, and interventions for diabetes. Despite efforts to ameliorate its effects, diabetes remains a prevalent danger in society. In 2014, 7% of U.S. adults were living with diagnosed diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016). In Louisiana that number was even higher - 10.4% of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes. Breaking it down by age group, however, in Louisiana 3% of people aged 18 and 44 have been diagnosed, and 15.2% of people 45-64. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015a). Several studies have predicted future rates of diabetes both in the United States and worldwide - nearly all of these studies reached a similar conclusion: rates of diabetes will continue to rise (Boyle et al., 2001).

While only 7.6 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 9 percent of Asian-Americans have diabetes, 12.8 percent of Hispanics have diabetes. Other high-risk ethnic groups are non-Hispanic blacks (13.2 percent) and American Indians/Alaskan Natives (15.9 percent). For Hispanics living in the United States, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is lower in those coming from Central and South America (8.5 percent) or Cuba (9.3 percent), but higher for those who are Mexican American (13.9 percent) and Puerto Rican (14.8 percent), who comprise the majority of Hispanic immigrants in the U.S. (Valencia, Oropesa-Gonzalez, Hogue & Florez,

It is a known fact that excellent care and control of diabetes could aid in minimizing the risk of people: nonetheless, there are plenty of African Americans who are not really knowledgeable and informed that they are already a diabetic (Calvin, 2011). It is only after they have already experienced some of its complications that they finally realize that they already are a diabetic.

Hispanic Americans culture each have different dietary patterns and food. “The traditional Hispanic American diet is rich in a variety of foods and dishes that represent a blend of pre-Columbian, indigenous Indian, Spanish, French, and more recently, American culture. The Hispanic diet is rich in complex carbohydrates, which are provided mainly by corn and grain products e.g. tortillas, present at almost every meal), beans, rice, and bread) (Smith, 2010).” They diet contains a good amount of protein (beans, eggs, fish, and shellfish, pork, and poultry). Chorizo is a spicy pork sausage that is served with egg for breakfast. Hispanic American favorite fruits and vegetables are tomatoes, squash, sweet potato, avocado, mango, pineapple,

In the US type 2 diabetes is a major medical problem affecting all ethnic backgrounds and needs to be addressed. The pre-diabetic and diabetic population is steadily increasing every year despite medical advancements. Unfortunately, the African American population is at a disadvantage when it comes to diabetes. Preventing medical complications related to diabetes, initiating health promotion programs, increasing healthy lifestyle behaviors will essentially lead to a decrease risk of complications secondary to diabetes and overall improve patient

First, for Latinos, studies have found that the prevalence of total diabetes, diagnosed and undiagnosed, among all Hispanic/Latino groups was roughly 16.9 percent of both men and women, compared to 10.2 percent of non-Hispanic whites. However, when looking at Hispanic/Latino groups individually, it found that prevalence varied from a high of 18.3 percent for those of Mexican descent to a low of 10.2 percent for people of South American descent. The study showed 18.1 percent of people of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent; 17.7 percent of Central American descent; and 13.4 percent of Cuban descent living in the United States had type 2 diabetes (Alexandria, 2014). As people believe, also prevalence rose dramatically with age, reaching more than 50 percent for Hispanic/Latino women by the time they reached age 70 and 44.3 percent for men aged 70-74.

Another health issue that African Americans struggle with is diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that involves the body producing high levels of blood glucose levels (Powers, Dodd & Noland, 2006). There are two types of diabetes; type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is known as the juvenile onset diabetes and caused by a lack of insulin production and secretion while type 2 is characterized by deficiency of insulin production, decreased production of insulin and increased insulin production and can usually be controlled by diet and exercise (Smeltzer & Bare, 2003). African Americans are twice as likely to

Type II Diabetes in African Americans is a major health disparity that is growing every day and needs to be understood more. According to the American Diabetes Association, African Americans are 1.7 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites (American Diabetes Association). Why is that? Scientist have been extensively trying to answer this question with various studies and experiments. Though it is not yet fully understood, small achievements have been made and answers are constantly being searched for. Testing and early diagnosis, primary prevention, access to care for everyone and improving that quality of care will make a difference in the number of casualties and people being affected in the African American community.

A simple blood test to check blood glucose levels can show if you have any type of diabetes.

If you have diabetes you should know because at first you will start to feel ill. If you do start to feel ill you should visit the doctor. There are two main types of diabetes and

The signs of diabetes differ from the symptoms because signs are indicators of a problem, while symptoms can only be describing by what a person feels. I want to focus on type 1 and type 2 diabetes because it has been very common on my father’s side of the family. According to the International Diabetes Federation, some warning signs for type 1 & 2 diabetes are frequent urination, weight loss, lack of energy, and excessive thirst. But, there are also more signs that consist of blurred vision, numbness, and increased of hunger. At the same time, these signs can be absent or show just a little in some people.

     Diabetes is a chronic condition in which the body produces too little insulin (Type One Diabetes) or can’t use available insulin efficiently ( Type Two Diabetes). Insulin is a hormone vital to helping the body use digested food for growth and energy.

The prevalence of diabetes Mellitus among African American are escalating on an alarming rate in the past 30 years and the rate has quadrupled. African Americans are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes than the Caucasians, with individuals 20 years and older accounting to 10.8% of all individuals with diabetes (CDC, 2015). A comparison of rates of diagnosis of diabetes mellitus by ethnic and race disclosed that in 2010 by the American Diabetes Association reported that the African Americans accounted for 13.2% of 29.1 million Americans with diabetes followed by Hispanics (12.8%), Asians (9.0%), and the non-Hispanic whites having the least rate (7.6%) (ADA, 2014).