Diabetes & the Hispanic/Latino Community

"Sábado Gigante" creator Don Francisco and Mexican-born film actress Salma Hayek have an important disease in common: diabetes, but they aren't the only ones. In fact, Hispanics represent one out of every five adult diabetic suffers in the U.S. But there are opportunities to improve behaviors.

Nationwide, 29.1 million individuals live with diabetes, which is 9.3 percent of the population. Also, 86 million American adults (more than 1 out of 3) have pre-diabetes. According to the National Diabetes Education Program, 10.4 percent of Hispanics/Latinos ages 20 years or older have been diagnosed with diabetes -- that number is slightly lower than the near 20 percent prevalence rate reported by a new survey produced by The National Alliance for Hispanic Health.

Nearly 80 percent (77 percent) of Hispanics with diabetes believe that health care providers are their most trusted source for health information, and yet just 12 percent indicated that they regularly visited their health care provider to manage their disease. For this reason, culturally rich campaigns must encourage Hispanics to visit doctors to monitor their diabetes and other health concerns.

Diabetes prevalence varies greatly among Hispanics/Latinos of diverse backgrounds, according to a study published by the American Diabetes Association, which showed occurrence rates among South Americans (10.2 percent), Cubans (13.4 percent), Central Americans (17.7 percent), Dominicans (18.0 percent) Puerto Ricans (18.0 percent) and Mexicans (18.3 percent).

The National Alliance for Hispanic Health provided key insight about outreach failures and the opportunities to educate the public about risks and the management of the disease. As stated, 68 percent of diabetic Hispanics worry about the disease's manifestation in a family member, compared to 52 percent for non-Hispanic whites. Their worries align with longstanding concerns in the community. Former research revealed that 78 percent of Hispanics worry quite a bit about their family, compared to 59 percent for non-Hispanics.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Hispanic adults are nearly twice as likely as non-Hispanic white adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes. Also, Hispanic/Latino adults have significantly higher rates of end-stage renal disease produced by diabetes, and they are 50 percent more likely to die from diabetes, compared to non-Hispanic whites. Because diabetes breeds with greater ease in the Latino community, Latinos are also more likely to experience complications and comorbid conditions (ex. hypoglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, stroke, blindness, kidney disease, amputations, etc.).

The National Alliance for Hispanic Health survey demonstrated that there are opportunities to improve behaviors. Approximately 87 percent of diabetic Hispanics believe that a person could take action to prevent diabetes. Survey respondents listed likely preventative measures, including eating a healthy diet (70 percent), being physically active (42 percent), maintaining a healthy weight (16 percent) and seeing a health provider regularly (10 percent).

With that in mind, the health care industry can endorse and heighten those beliefs by improving awareness about holistic approaches to prevention; framing messages targeting Hispanics with cultural and linguistic significance; and communicating relevant health topics to the community to produces better outcomes.