Diabetes Case Study

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

The Hispanic ethnic group comprises more than 50 million of the American population; this about 16 percent of the population 1. The USA Census Bureau forecasts that in 2050, one out of three people living in America will be of Hispanic origin 2. Hispanics refer to people of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Mexican, Central or South American background 3. They also include people of other Spanish culture despite their race. This paper focuses on the impact of socioeconomic status of Hispanics on the incidence of Type II diabetes in East Harlem. East Harlem is located on the northeast corner of Manhattan, New York. East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or El Barrio. In addition, about one-third of the East Harlem residents live below the poverty line, compared to the NYC in general East Harlem has one of the highest proportions of households in poverty 4 . Relationships between socioeconomic status, ethnicity, and chronic disease undoubtedly have complex explanations. The socioeconomic status has been used to explain the higher prevalence and higher

The Hispanic Community Health Study observed Latino groups individually and found that a high of 18.3 percent for those of Mexican descent are at risk to contract Diabetes. Unfortunately my mother has developed this disease and to this day I live with the constant fear of also developing it. Similar to diseases such as Cancer and AIDS, Diabetes is so frightening because it has no cure.

Diabetes is a prevalent health disparity among the Latino population. Diabetes is listed as the fifth leading cause of death among the Latino population in the website for Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, in 2009. According to McBean, “the 2001 prevalence among Hispanics was significantly higher than among blacks.” (2317) In other words among the Hispanic or Latino community, there is a higher occurrence of diabetes as compared to other racial/ethnic groups such as Blacks and Native Americans. The prevalence of diabetes among Latinos is attributed to the social determinants of health such as low socioeconomic status and level of education. Further, this becomes an important public health issue when it costs the

Native Americans are mainly affected with type 2 diabetes. This is are mainly due education barriers. Not fully understanding the diagnosis usually leads to further problems, like not being able to treat the diagnosis

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

Based on the United States census, it is estimated that by the year 2050 one in three people living in the United Sates will be of Hispanic/Latino origin which include sub groups like Puerto Rican, Mexican, Cuban, Central Americans, and South Americans (Heart Association, 2014). Within those subgroups, the prevalence varied for people of Mexican descent from as high of 18.3 percent to as low as 10.3 percent for people of South American descent, Dominicans and Puerto Rican descent 18.1 percent, Central American descent and Cubans descent 13.4 percent all living in the United States with diabetes type 2. On another commentary being published in the same issue of Diabetes Care, the author wrote, “the differences in diabetes and obesity prevalence among Latinos subgroups are marked when all individuals are combined into a single group” (Heart Association, 2014). Diabetes in Latino Americans has become more prevalence with aging, by the time they reach the age of 70 years, 44.3 percent of Latino men age 70 years old to 74 years old will have develop diabetes. The same study also indicated that the longer Latino Americans live in the United States the more likely they will develop diabetes, that is according to the education and income level of the person. The study also shows

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.

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,

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.

The impact of diabetes on African Americans is disproportionate. An estimated four million of African Americans with the age of twenty and above are diabetic. They are more prone to have diabetes as compared to non-Hispanic whites. Once an African American reaches the age of 65,

The Hispanic population is constantly growing and we have an estimated 13.7% of Hispanics making up the United States. “The annual percentage of patients with prediabetes in whom overt type 2 diabetes develops is about 5% in the general US population and may reach 15% in the Hispanic American population” (Idrogo & Mazze, 2004, para. 7). This a community health issue because of the percentage of Hispanic individuals that may end up with diabetes. These individuals need to be educated to help the promotion, protection, and maintenance of diabetes in this group. That is why I have created the intervention program for this ethnic group.

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).

Diabetes is a major medical problem in the US. In the year 2015, it was reported that 86 million Americans are diagnosed with prediabetes (ADA, 2016). Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States (CDC, 2016). Research has

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, "[By 1993] death certificates listed diabetes as the fifth leading cause of death for Blacks aged 45 to 64, and the third leading cause of death for those aged 65 and older in 1990.” (Bailey, 2007). These statistics show how serious the problem of diabetes has become in the black community. Epidemiological studies can focus the efforts of the healthcare community to effective interventions aimed at lowering the prevalence and incidence of diabetes among African Americans.