Heart Disease Among Latino Americans

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

Hispanics households with low socioeconomic status and low education coupled with low diabetes awareness have high type 2 diabetes prevalence 9. The high prevalence rates of type 2 diabetes can be attributed to a number of reasons such as; the Latinos have a genetic tendency to develop insulin resistance and they face high risks for abdominal obesity. The study emphasized that the strongest predictors of developing type 2 diabetes in Hispanic population are impaired insulin sensitivity, low insulin secretion and and glucose effectiveness 1. In addition, the prevalence rates are high in poor families who have poor nutrition and lifestyle behaviors. Since poor families have low access to education, they tend to have low awareness for diabetes hence these results in high diabetes prevalent rates. The results of the study indicated that incidence of diabetes decreased with rising educational level in Hispanic population

The Health status of an individual could be defined as someone watching another and collecting data about a person and based on the information that were collected. Health status of an entire population would be to consider the health of a population, their life span, the extensiveness of preventable diseases or deaths and the availability of their health status (National Center for Health Statistics). The prevalent health situation of Hispanics are Diabetes, Heart diseases, stroke, liver diseases, cancer asthma, obesity and tobacco use. Heart disease is the main cause of death among all ethnic groups in the United States. Obesity and smoking being are of the risk factors for developing hypertension. Hispanic whites have higher rates of diabetes and obesity, whereas non-Hispanic whites have a

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

Approximately 1 in 6 individuals are Hispanic in the United States, and the population is expected to grow to 1 in 4 by 2035 (CDC, 2015). Given that, Hispanics are the biggest minority group in the US (CDC, 2015). The leading cause of death among the Hispanic population is heart disease and cancer responsible for around 2 out of 5 deaths (CDC, 2015). Hispanics have a 50% greater chance of death resulting from diabetes or liver disease than whites (CDC, 2015). Additionally, there are 3 times as more uninsured Hispanics than whites (CDC, 2015). According to the US average, whites are 15 years older than the Latino population, so prevention will greatly benefit the health of the Latino population (CDC, 2015).

The United States have been growing the diverse population rapidly in different groups of people; however, increasing number of ethnic groups also struggle with new challenges such as health problems, economics, and educations. According the United States census report, there are approximately 54 million Hispanic lives in the United States, which makes about 17% population of total nation’s population. Hispanic is the largest growing ethnicity in the United States today; however, they are also exposed to the health disparities, economic and social status. This paper will discuss the Hispanic group culture, socioeconomic on their health, current health status, their health promotion, health disparities, and three levels of health prevention and effectiveness.

However, due to the United States’ aging population, along with an increasing prevalence of obesity, diabetes is on the increase. Of the approximately 313 million population count in the United States, 97 million adults are overweight or obese. “Both excess body fat and physical inactivity predispose to type 2 diabetes. Several ethnic groups are particularly susceptible to Type 2 diabetes” (Scott 1134). Hispanics, blacks,

Iannotta, Joah G. Emerging Issues in Hispanic Health: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, D.C.: National Academies, 2002. Print.

The United States is a melting pot of cultures from around the globe. Many immigrants acclimate to American culture and customs while retaining many of their native culture and customs. However, much of their culture places these immigrants at risk for health disparities. Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing racial and ethnic in the United States (cardiosmart.org, 2014). According to CDC.gov (2004), compared to non-Hispanic whites, Hispanics experienced chronic liver disease 62% more, diabetes 41% more, HIV 168% more and cancer of the cervix 152% and stomach 63% more for males and 150% more for females.

The Hispanic community in the largest minority in the USA and the fastest growing, it is also one with a high incidence of preventable diseases such as Diabetes, periodontitis, colorectal cancer and HIV. Obesity and teen age pregnancy are significantly more prevalent in Hispanic/Latino population as well. Rate of vaccination is also below that of the majority of the population. Addressing their health care makes good public health and economic sense.

In Fresno, California, from 2011-2012 “78.6% of Latinos, 35.4% Asian, and 64.9% White were considered overweight or obese.” (“Obesity Rates for Adults,” 2017) Health disparities take a huge role in the health care. Disparities occur across many dimensions, including race, socioeconomic status, location, sexual orientation, and age. Low income communities face obstacles that provide quality care. For instance, in Latino or Asian neighborhoods language barriers minimize the access of health care because many residents are unable to speak English, preventing them from seeking proper help. For example,

The American Medical Journal explains that the heart disease is one of the deadliest medical conditions. Medical experts reckon that heart disease is a lifestyle disease, which emanates from excessive consumption of the wrong dietary combination. Foods such as fats and carbohydrates often expose individuals to the threat of heart disease. Consuming fast foods from McDonalds also expose people to the threat of heart disease. The most plausible means of mitigating the risk of contacting heart disease is by observing dietary combination. Individuals must keep a balanced diet always in order to avoid dietary concerns later on in life. The most common symptoms include chest discomfort, nausea, trouble sleeping, breathing problems, and unusual tiredness.

Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group and there are estimated to be about 54 million living in the United States (Office of Minority Health & Health Equity, YEAR). The Hispanics are a minority group that struggle every day to survive, to provide for their families, to stay healthy and to live quality lives. This paper will discuss the Hispanics current health status, how health promotion is defined by the Hispanics and what health disparities exist for the Hispanics. Lastly, this paper will discuss the three levels of health prevention and their effectiveness given the unique

There are many health disparities that exist among the Hispanic population. Many of these are chronic conditions that affect the population. Obesity is one of the many examples of conditions that have increased for the Hispanic population. The CDC (2014) states, “The prevalence of obesity among female Mexican American adults during 2007–2010 was larger than the prevalence among female white, non-Hispanic adults during the same years” (p. 1). This is one of the many statistics that show an example of a health disparity in the Hispanic population. Another example of a problem that is prevalent in the Hispanic community is the health promotion and screening rates. The CDC (2014) states, “A smaller percentage of Hispanic adults aged 50-75 years reported being up-to-date with colorectal cancer screening in 2010 than their non-Hispanic adult counterparts”

Diabetes is a growing problem in the Hispanic population. In fact, according to Duggan et al. (2014) “Hispanics have a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.” Hispanics also have a greater chance of experiencing complications due to not obtaining regular medical checkups and not monitoring their glucose levels (Duggan et al., 2014). As the problem continues to increase there have been many interventions created to help prevent diabetes among the Hispanic population. One of these interventions is training community health workers (promotores de salud) to help educate on disease prevention and promote a healthy lifestyle. Promotores de salud, according to Cruz, Hernandez-Lane, Cohello, and Bautista (2013), are “one of the most