My Diabetes Information Blogs
Diabetes Harder on Minorities
10/18/07
Research
An article from WebMD reports on a study released last month that found that Latino and African-American diabetics had higher blood sugar measures than white diabetics. Whites averaged a hemoglobin A1C score of 7.22 percent, compared to 8.07 and 8.14 percent in African-American and Latino study participants, respectively. This was no surprise, because many other studies have come to similar conclusions.
Experts have speculated that minorities have limited access to doctors and medications compared to whites. Less access leads to fewer treatments and less education, encouragement, and reinforcement from medical professionals. However, this new study found that some minorities experience more stress, or do not take their medications according to the schedule they should.
Those reasons were only some of the factors contributing to the difference in A1C scores. The medical community can't yet entirely explain the difference in blood sugar readings between ethnic groups. However, the same medical advice about diet, exercise, medications, and other treatments applies to all diabetics.
Sources:
WebMD.com
Archives of Internal Medicine, September 2007