Latinos Weigh In on Diabetes: Hispanic Community's Opinions On Metabolic Diseases Greatly Varies, Study Finds

Although Hispanics are nearly twice as likely as non-Hispanic to get diabetes, the perception of the metabolic disease, within the community, varies a great deal, according to a new survey by the National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

The alarming findings showed that 87 percent of Hispanics with diabetes think an afflicted person can take actions to prevent the illness compared to 80 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 69 percent of non-Hispanic blacks.

Only 3 percent of Hispanics thought of monitoring blood sugar as a way to manage diabetes.

In a press release, Jane L. Delgado, president and chief executive officer of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, explained that diabetes has touched the lives of millions of Hispanic families and that the insights taken from the new survey confirm that diabetes is in fact a worry for many Latinos.

“These efforts are critical, especially considering Hispanics are nearly twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be diagnosed with diabetes,” Delgado said of the findings.

“The survey showed us that there are specific areas within diabetes education and awareness that need to be addressed in order to raise awareness among Hispanics,” said Dr. Luis Salmun, executive director of health sciences executives at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals.

According to the American Diabetes Association, the prevalence of both diagnosed and undiagnosed diabetes among all Hispanic and Latino groups was about 16.9 percent for both men and women, compared to 10.2 percent for non-Hispanic whites.

The NAHH survey showed that more than two-thirds of Hispanics with diabetes claimed to know someone with the same disease and more than a third of Hispanics without diabetes could not name a symptom of the blood sugar malady.

One in four Hispanics with diabetes responded “no” or “don’t know” when asked if their doctor or health care provider had informed them as to what type of diabetes they had, a number which is almost twice as high as the 17 percent number for non-Hispanic whites and lower than 34 percent for non-Hispanic blacks.