Nutritional Survival For Diabetics : The Center For Disease And Prevention

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 disease where the body is unable to produce or use insulin effectively. Insulin is needed for proper storage and use of carbohydrates. Without it, blood sugar levels can become too high or too low, resulting in a diabetic emergency. It affects about 7.8% of the population. The incidence of diabetes is known to increase with age. It’s the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in the US, and is the primary cause of blindness and foot and leg amputation. It is known to cause neuropathy in up to 70% of diabetic patients. Individuals with diabetes are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease. There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

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

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.

Many studies have examined the link between poverty and diabetes. The CDC (2015b) have identified the following as primary factors that lead an individual to have an increased risk of developing diabetes: being overweight or obese; having a parent or sibling with diabetes; having African American, American Indian, Asian American, Pacific Islander, or Hispanic American/Latino heritage; having a history of gestational diabetes; having blood pressure measuring 140/90 or higher; abnormal cholesterol; and being physically inactive.

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

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,

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

Diabetes as describes by health. NY. GOV is a disease in which blood glucose (blood sugar) levels are above normal ("Diabetes Basics," 2007). This can lead to a range of serious health consequences, “including vision loss, nerve damage and numbness, high blood pressure, kidney disease, heart disease and death” (DiNapoli, 2015). Diabetes is a growing epidemic in New York City among all age group but has grown significantly over the years among adults especially African American and other minority groups. In 2007, data report from the New York City Health Department reported that “diabetes was higher in NYC than in the U.S. overall (9.1% vs 7.5%). (NYC health data).

African Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives living in N.D are twice as likely to have diabetes than Whites.

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,

The environment therefore plays a significant role in T2D etiology and efforts to control its prevalence tend to focus on lifestyle changes (Yates, Jarvis, Troughton, and JaneDavies, 2009, p. 1-2). For example, improved diet and exercise programs have been shown to reduce the risk of disease by 50% to 90%. Since the environment plays a dominant role in determining disease prevalence, other factors such as cultural differences, socioeconomic status, and educational achievement would also tend to influence diabetes incidence. This essay will review the contributing factors that determine the prevalence of T2D in the American Indian population, a demographic with shockingly high rates.

"The facts are clear: The diabetes epidemic sweeping the U.S. is hitting the African American community particularly hard, according to doctors." (2) Diabetes is defined as, "A disease that affects the body's ability to produce or respond to insulin, a hormone that allows blood glucose (blood sugar) to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy." (1) There are two types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, which usually begins during childhood or adolescence, "Is a condition characterized by high blood glucose levels caused by total lack of insulin. This occurs when the body's immune system attacks the insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas

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.

     According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, about 17 million Americans have diabetes and every year about 1 million more age 20 or older are diagnosed with the disorder. People who are overweight, do not exercise, and are 30 years or older are more likely to get the disease (especially type 2 diabetes). People who are also of African American, Latino/Hispanic, Native American, Alaskan