Diabetes in the Latino Community

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

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

Hispanics are the largest and fastest growing ethnic minority group, estimated to be 54 million living in the United States of America. (Office of Minority Health and Health Equity). They work very hard to make both ends meet and also to stay in good health. They are relatively as a source of cheap labor in the American labor market This paper will dwell more on the Hispanic current Health status, how health promotion is described by the group and what health disparities exists for this group.

The health issues resulting from health disparities present on the Latinos and Hispanics in America are diverse. In the Hispanic community, diabetes is one of the major causes of death and illness. The language barrier, hard access to health and preventive care and cultural barriers are factors that contribute to this disparity. (Ritter & Hoffman, 2010).

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 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.

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

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,

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”

The following is a case study of a 41 year-old Mexican American woman who was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

Many low income communities, dense of minorities and people of color, struggle to find fresh healthy produce readily available to them. These communities lack access to farmers’ markets, full service grocery stores, and other vendors of fresh healthy produce. Instead they are impacted with an abundance of cheap, high-fat, high-processed fast food restaurants. Without access to fresh healthy foods, a full nutritious diet is hard to achieve. The discrepancies within the food system are leading to harmful impacts on individuals’ health. These discrepancies have led to significantly higher rates of diabetes and complications amongst racial and ethnic minorities. Along with an increase surge of diabetics within marginalized groups, these groups are also faced with more diabetic related complications. For example, “African Americans have 2-4 times the rate of renal disease, blindness, amputations, and amputation-related mortality of non-Hispanic whites. Similarly, Latinos have higher rates of renal disease and retinopathy” (NCBI). The systematic oppression of marginalized groups within the food system has detrimental effects on the health of ethnic and racial minorities.

Food insecurity is one of the leading public health challenges in the United States today, since millions of people (children and adults) are food insecure because of insufficient money income and other socioeconomic and demographic factors. (Seligman, Kushel, & Laraia, 2010)