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Diabetes In Latino Communities

Esmeralda Ayala

California State University Channel Islands

HLTH 343-001: Health In Latino Community

Professor Cibonay Jimenez

April 15, 2023

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Diabetes is a growing public health issue among The United States. Diabetes ranks the

number seven leading cause of death in the United States (Mansyur et al., 2015). According

to (Smalls et al., 2020),”In the United States, there are 30.3 million people who were diagnosed

with diabetes in 2015”. Then again, there are also many more people who are living with

diabetes and don’t know they have it. Diabetes can develop if one does not self care and live an

unhealthy lifestyle. The unbalanced hormones, lack of insulin, poor eating habits and no exercise

are all factors that contribute to the development of Diabetes. In a national survey as stated by

(Mansyur et al., 2015), 11.8% of Hispanics, 12.6% Afro Americans, and 8.4% of Asian

Americans and 7.1% of Whites have diabetes. Insulin plays a big role in our bodies and it is

produced in the pancreas. In the University of Toronto between 1921-1922 the greatest discovery

of insulin was made to treat the disease (Lewis & Brubaker, 2021). If very little insulin is being

produced by the pancreas or no insulin at all, our bodies will start to change and a person can

become diabetic. Most Latinos have very low rates of insulin and have a higher death rate

(Mansyur et al., 2015). While dealing with Diabetes one must check their blood sugar levels, as

sugar levels tend to run high when one has Diabetes. As stated by (Thipsawat, 2021), “Chronic

Diabetes can cause damage, dysfunction, failure of the eyes, nerves, foot, blood vessels, kidneys

and heart.” This is why it is very important that a person with Diabetes must monitor their body

by checking their blood sugar, their blood pressure, eating healthy foods, taking their daily

medicine and exercising. Diabetes can cause death; However, it can also be managed as long as

you take care of your body. Diabetes among the Latino communities has its barriers and help

programs.

In spite of the fact that Diabetes can be controlled, it also has its cultural barriers amongst

the Latino communities. Many of them face challenges and struggle to maintain their Diabetes.
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In a Latino household if one is to have diabetes, self management can be hard. Many Latinos are

set in their ways and it can be hard to give up any traditional foods to stay healthy and maintain

their Diabetes (Mansyur et al. 2015). It is also known that it can differ between male and female

in a Latino household. It may be harder for a woman with Diabetes to maintain a healthy

lifestyle as her role as a mother is to take care of her family and nurture her kids before she can

take care of her wellbeing (Mansyur et al. 2015). With Diabetes being on the rise each year,

disparities amongst the Latino communities have been reported and it has been estimated that

Latinos rank as one of the highest with 14.4% and they are 66% more likely to develop diabetes

than other ethnicities (Maldonado et al., 2022).

However, barriers in the Latino community continue to appear. In a study where 73

Latinos with Diabetes were monitored, the participants spoke about some of the barriers they

faced. For example the suffering from Diabetes, difficulties managing Diabetes and the lack of

knowledge and resources they face (Hu et al., 2013). As one is diagnosed with Diabetes, they

must immediately change their eating lifestyle. When one cannot eat their favorite foods, are very

limited to what they can eat and what they cannot eat, it can be very difficult leaving the person

in a physical and emotional state of suffering (Hu et al. 2013). During this study some patients

complained about bone pain, vision changes and weak strength. The difficulties with managing

Diabetes is that they need to take their daily medicine, they have difficulties managing their food

intake, many craved their favorite foods and sodas (Hu et al. 2013). As we all know, Latino

culture is full of spicy, greasy foods that are very delicious and full of flavor but not entirely

healthy. Many participants also complained about how difficult it was to exercise. One of the

participants complained,” Consistently exercising and having a schedule to do it is difficult”,( Hu

et al. 2013). According to (Kanaley et al. 2022) he stated, "Resistance Exercise in adults with
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Diabetes results in 10-15% improvements in strength, bone mineral density, blood pressure, lipid

profiles, skeletal muscle mass, and insulin sensitivity.”

Many of the Latino community have very little education background. In a sense the lack

of knowledge, resources and support are some of the barriers they also struggle with. Having

that language barrier can affect the communication between the physician and patient. Some

participants complained about the poor communication, lack of information and the side effects

of warnings when administering medications (Bakhikar et al. 2019). Obtaining medication can

be very costly especially Diabetes medication. Many Latinos either don’t have good insurance or

don't have any insurance at all. One participant stated, “I don’t have the money to buy the

medicine, nor do I have a doctor to prescribe it”, (Hu et al. 2013). Low income Latino

communities can be affected by the poor healthcare system we have. When it comes to the cost,

(Bakhikar et al., 2019) stated, “11% of Latinos reported forgoing their medication because they

could not pay for it.” Although the costs of medicine can be high in price, there are those that

refuse to take the medicine because of the awful side effects, about 48% of the participants

refused to take the medicine (Baghikar et al. 2019). Some side effects include stomach pains,

hypoglycemia or restlessness.

Having the support from your family is what a person needs when they are going through

a tough time, especially when dealing with a disease like Diabetes. Some experience the lack of

family support as family members may not be educated enough about the disease. The struggles

with their food changes, this can have an affect and interfere with their new lifestyle changes as

the family is not used to eating healthy foods (Hu et al. 2013). Although Diabetes can kill a

person, having the proper knowledge, support and treatment can help stabilize Diabetes.
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Another way of containing Diabetes is to prevent it from happening or to self-manage it.

There are a few prevention programs out there but there is one in particular that was created to

prevent Diabetes from developing. In 2012, the CDC implemented the National Diabetes

Prevention program (Cannon et al. 2022). This program was created to stop Diabetes from

increasing amongst people who are at risk of developing Diabetes. This program was created so

that it can be used online or in person. The enrollees must be 18 years old or older to be part of

the program. It was stated by (Cannon et al. 2022), “Between January 2012 and December 2019,

455,954 participants enrolled in the National DPP Lifestyle Change Program.”

In this program all of the participants profile data was collected, as well as their food

intake and physical activity was monitored. Along with preventing Diabetes it can also be

self-managed with the correct tools and information. Although some Latino communities don’t

have access to some of the resources they need to maintain their Diabetes, a self-management

program can help with self educational information as well as health information on how to live a

healthy lifestyle, and support from others. This gives the opportunity for low income Latino

communities to take advantage of the benefits of this program as the morbidity and mortality is

higher among Latinos (Slater et al. 2022).

Though the Latino community struggles with Diabetes, with its issues and its barriers,

there is also hope in health programs that can help. Communication barriers have impacted the

relationship between physician and patient. Not only does it interfere with administering the

medication but it also leaves space for lack of education. However, with good communication a

patient can build trust within their physician and be well knowledgeable of the disease and its

medications. Lack of family support was a big issue among the Latino communities,with good

education and understanding, the patient can have the full family support that they need. Lastly,
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taking full advantage of any prevention programs or self-managing programs can help reduce the

increase of Diabetes among Latino communities. As we know, someone with Diabetes can

manage and maintain their Diabetes safely. If Latinos take the time to ask questions with

someone who may help them regardless of their language barrier, they can learn a lot and get

well educated to prevent or maintain the Diabetes stable. By doing this and living a healthy

lifestyle, Latinos can prevent Diabetes from increasing among our communities.
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References

Baghikar, S., Benitez, A., Fernandez Piñeros, P., Gao, Y., & Baig, A. A. (2019). Factors
Impacting Adherence to Diabetes Medication Among Urban, Low Income Mexican-Americans
with Diabetes. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 21(6), 1334–1341.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-019-00867-9

Cannon, M. J., Ng, B. P., Lloyd, K., Reynolds, J., & Ely, E. K. (2022). Delivering the National
Diabetes Prevention Program: Assessment of Enrollment in In-Person and Virtual Organizations.
Journal of Diabetes Research, 2022, 2942918. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/2942918

Hu, J., Amirehsani, K., Wallace, D. C., & Letvak, S. (2013). Perceptions of barriers in managing
diabetes: perspectives of Hispanic immigrant patients and family members. The Diabetes
Educator, 39(4), 494–503. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145721713486200

Kanaley, J. A., Colberg, S. R., Corcoran, M. H., Malin, S. K., Rodriguez, N. R., Crespo, C. J.,
Kirwan, J. P., & Zierath, J. R. (2022). Exercise/Physical Activity in Individuals with Type 2
Diabetes: A Consensus Statement from the American College of Sports Medicine. Medicine and
Science in Sports and Exercise, 54(2), 353–368.
https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002800

Lewis, G. F., & Brubaker, P. L. (2021). The discovery of insulin revisited: lessons for the modern
era. The Journal of Clinical Investigation, 131(1), e142239. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI142239

Maldonado, L. E., Sotres-Alvarez, D., Mattei, J., Daviglus, M. L., Talavera, G. A., Perreira, K.
M., Van Horn, L., Mossavar-Rahmani, Y., LeCroy, M. N., Gallo, L. C., & Albrecht, S. S. (2022).
A Posteriori Dietary Patterns, Insulin Resistance, and Diabetes Risk by Hispanic/Latino Heritage
in the HCHS/SOL Cohort. Nutrition & diabetes, 12(1), 44.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41387-022-00221-3

Mansyur, C. L., Rustveld, L. O., Nash, S. G., & Jibaja-Weiss, M. L. (2015). Social factors and
barriers to self-care adherence in Hispanic men and women with diabetes. Patient Education and
Counseling, 98(6), 805–810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2015.03.001

Slater, A., Cantero, P. J., Alvarez, G., Cervantes, B. S., Bracho, A., & Billimek, J. (2022). Latino
Health Access: Comparative Effectiveness of a Community-Initiated Promotor/a-Led Diabetes
Self-management Education Program. Family & Community Health, 45(1), 34–45.
https://doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0000000000000311
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Rachdaoui N. (2020). Insulin: The Friend and the Foe in the Development of Type 2 Diabetes
Mellitus. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(5), 1770.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms21051770

Smalls, B. L., Ritchwood, T. D., Bishu, K. G., & Egede, L. E. (2020). Racial/Ethnic Differences
in Glycemic Control in Older Adults with Type 2 Diabetes: United States 2003-2014.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(3), 950.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17030950

Thipsawat S. (2021). Early detection of diabetic nephropathy in patient with type 2 diabetes
mellitus: A review of the literature. Diabetes & Vascular Disease Research, 18(6),
14791641211058856. https://doi.org/10.1177/14791641211058856