Many minorities, including Latinos, are disproportionately affected by diabetes. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown that almost 13% of all Latinos have the disease compared to just over 9% of the overall U.S. population. Latinos are also more likely to experience complications from the disease and, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Office of Minority Health, they have a higher death rate from diabetes, as well. However, having support from peers can help Latinos cope with and live with the disease. A study from the University of Missouri School of Medicine looked at how well interventions work in the Latino community when a person with diabetes gets support from someone who understands the disease. In ...
Three of every four Latino kids have had a sugary drink by their second birthday, compared to less than half of white kids. Regular consumption can have alarming health consequences. In fact, being Latino and drinking sugary beverages at least once in the past week were associated with 2.3 times the odds of severe obesity in kindergarten, which can lead to diabetes and worse, according to new research package to be released Dec. 5, 2016, from Salud America!, an obesity prevention network at UT Health San Antonio, and Bridging the Gap, an obesity research team at the University of Illinois. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, to tweet about the new research and strategies to reduce consumption of sugary drinks among Latino kids: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “The ...
Many people are aware of the effects that diabetes can take on your body. However, what can just having high-blood sugar do to you? Latino adults are almost twice as likely as non-Hispanic white adults to be diagnosed with diabetes by a physician. In 2010, Latinos were three times more likely to start treatment for end-stage renal disease related to diabetes and Latinas were 1.5 times as likely to die from it compared to whites. Glucose, or sugar, is the fuel that helps power cells through your body. Levels of it rise and fall in your blood depending on what you eat. However, when cells don’t absorb the glucose, the results can include damage to nerves, blood vessels, and organs. “If you keep glucose levels near normal, you reduce the risk of diabetes complications,” Dr. ...
The tax on sugary drinks in Mexico is projected to prevent 190,000 cases of diabetes, 20,000 heart attacks and strokes, and 19,000 deaths among Mexicans ages 35-94 over the next 10 years, according to a new study. The tax will save $1 billion in direct healthcare costs in a decade, the study found. For the study, researchers from UC San Francisco and Mexico created a new simulation model of diabetes and heart disease to make the first long-term projections about the health and economic effects of the tax in Mexico, where 75% of adults are overweight or obese and diabetes rates are extremely high. Mexico adopted a 10% excise tax on sugary drinks in 2014. The tax’s effect on diabetes alone is expected to reduce health care spending on clinic visits and hospitalizations by $983 ...
Challenged by smoking habits, rising instances of diabetes and high blood pressure, and drug abuse, the population of the U.S. simply lags behind other similar nations when it comes to infant mortality and the life expectancy its citizens, the U.S. National Library of Medicine reports. A comprehensive study of global health statistics found that the U.S. does not meet the high expectations set based on the amount of money spent on healthcare. The findings were part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study 2015, a scientific analysis of more than 300 diseases and injuries in 195 countries and territories. “Not all U.S. citizens benefit equally from [the country’s] advantages,” said Dr. Mohsen Naghavi, a professor with the Institute for Health Metrics ...
The human gut is a complex environment called a "microbiome." It is home to billions of bacteria and other microbes that help digest food. Research now shows that the gut might play a role in development of type 2 diabetes, which afflicts Latinos at a 66% higher rate than Whites. Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have received a five-year, nearly $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study if altering the gut microbiomes of Latinos can impact the treatment and prevention of diabetes, Yahoo! News reports. The human gut microbiome represents a promising target for dietary changes and treatments aimed at combating type 2 diabetes—particularly in the Latino Latino population that disproportionately develops the disease, said Dr. Robert ...
U.S. Latinos have high risk of pre-diabetes, diabetes, and diabetic eye disease. But why? What can we do to stop it from happening? Let’s use #SaludTues to tweet in English and Spanish information, resources, and tips that can empower Latinos to prevent, reduce, and manage diabetes: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: Diabetes & Latinos
TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
LANGUAGE: English and Spanish
HOST: @SaludToday
CO-HOSTS: Vida Saludable by the American Heart Association (@AHA_Vida) and Ventanilla de Salud in Washington, D.C. (@VDSalud_DC) We’ll open the floor to your stories and experiences as we explore: Why is knowing about diabetes important for Latinos?
What are the ...
Research has long shown that U.S. Latinos face higher rates of diabetes and obesity. But are there differences among Mexicans? Cubans? Puerto Ricans? The Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), the first long-term study to look exclusively at the health of Latinos, is studying heart disease, obesity, and diabetes among a cohort of more than 16,000 U.S. Latino adults of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican, South American and Central American heritage in the Bronx, Chicago, San Diego and Miami areas, the American Heart Association (AHA) reports. For diabetes, a study of this cohort found that adults of South American heritage have the lowest rate of diabetes. Only about 10 percent of them have diabetes compared with about 18 percent of persons of ...
An old-school approach is making news in Latino diabetes prevention... Community outreach. In Fresno, Calif., workers with the California Health Collaborative’s Diabetes Education Program go door to door to encourage Latino residents to attend their free, bilingual, six-week diabetes self-management classes. They also heavily publicize their classes—in which participants are given a health assessment and cover topics from the diabetes pathology to stress management to nutrition and physical activity—among a population that is largely uninsured and undocumented. “If they do receive medical care, it might only be when they suffer complications of diabetes, and are seen in an emergency room,” said Rosendo Iniguez, coordinator of the Diabetes Education Program, told ...
