Studies of Arizona Insulin Resistance (AIR) Registry

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

(2012) suggest that, “genetic ancestry has a significant association with type 2 diabetes above and beyond its association with non-genetic risk factors for type 2 diabetes in African Americans, but no single gene with a major effect is sufficient to explain a large portion of the observed population difference in risk of diabetes. and that there is a interplay among specific genetic factors, which may both be associated with overall admixture, leading to the observed ethnic differences in diabetes

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 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

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,

Blood is drawn four times during the testing hours (30 min, 1 hour, 2 hour, and 3 hour)

Diabetes in Hispanic Americans is a serious health challenge because of the increased prevalence of diabetes in this population, the greater number of risk factors for diabetes in Hispanics (Smith, 2010).” In the years of 2004-2006, about 11.9% of Hispanic American aged twenty (20) years or older are diagnosed with diabetes. About 75% of the Hispanic American trend to be overweight or obesity. When work with Hispanic American clients, you have to gain support from clients’ families to enhance their acceptability of the diet. Healthcare provider encourages pregnant Hispanic to eat low-fat cheeses, lean red meat, and fresh fruits and vegetables. “Gender differentiation and male dominance are issues to consider while working with Hispanic households. The father is the leader of the family while the mother runs the home, shops and prepares the food (Smith,

The Hispanic community faces many challenges in America. One of the major health issues that affect this community is obesity. If not treated, obesity will eventually result in other chronic health problems like diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome. Creating an environment that will foster healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle will enable this group to avoid diabetes or hypertension in the future. Managing existing diabetes is also critical for this at risk group to avoid the chronic problems that may arise form uncontrolled diabetes.

Latinos/ Hispanics are one of the races that have a background with the higher risk to get diabetes type 2, but in what way does being Latino affect the course of the illness and what roll does culture takes in this problematic? There is a considerable difference between Hispanic and Non-Hispanics. Many factors can be the reasons for this difference in numbers, but the most influential factors are culture, acculturation and, the medical cultural competence.

The burden of Type diabetes is much higher in ethnic minorities than for whites (CDC, 2011). Those of which include Latino and African American ethnicities. According to Lemon, Rosal, & Welch (2011), Latinos have a higher rate of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus rates than Caucasian because of socioeconomic status, education, health beliefs, family/relationship, and gender role expectations. The majority of this literature review was women and most of which had less than 8 years of education, with the average income of less than $10,000 annually (Lemon, Rosal, & Welch, 2011). Both of these factors which contribute to the risk of prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes. Several factors including language, literacy, and culture and values all are important in addressing the risk factors in low-income Spanish speaking individuals’ quality of life and risk of chronic disease.

Over the years obesity has become more and more prevalent in the United States. Currently, approximately 35% of Americans are obese. The Center for Disease Control statistics on obesity are alarming. They have reported the obesity rate to be higher in Non-Hispanic blacks than Hispanics. 47% to 42%, while 32.6% of Non-Hispanic whites are obese. In addition to ethnicity, the CDC looked at obesity among age groups. Obesity was found to be higher among middle-aged adults 40-59, rather than younger adults age 20-39. As far as socio-economic groups were considered, Non-Hispanic black and Mexican American men with higher incomes are more likely to be obese than those with low income. When genders were factored in, the opposite was found. Non-Hispanic

Obesity levels disproportionately affect minority groups, with Mexican American, or Latino, populations bearing the largest burden. When compared to Non-Hispanic Whites (19%) and Non-Hispanic African American (19%) populations, Latino children show the highest rates of obesity (25%).6 In addition, Latino children have a higher incidence rate of type 2 diabetes and lower levels of physical activity in comparison to the national average in conjunction with higher levels of dietary fat intake and lower levels of fruit and vegetable consumption.7,8 Furthermore, the Latino population is the fastest growing minority

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

The spike in blood glucose levels after ingestion of simple sugars is thought to be related to some of the heart and vascular diseases which have become more frequent in recent times. Simple sugars form a greater part of modern diets than formerly, perhaps leading to more cardiovascular disease. The degree of causation is still not clear, however.

Annual testing for abnormalities in fasting serum cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, and calculated LDL cholesterol levels (ADA, 2008)