Nutrition Research Paper: Heart Disease

Type 2 Diabetes in Hispanic Americans

Susie Sample

Type 2 diabetes has had a significant impact on my family. My mother, grandmother, and

several of my aunts and uncles have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Outside of my family, I have

seen that diabetes is common within my ethnic group. It’s important that I learn more about how to

prevent diabetes because my family history and ethnicity put me at higher risk.

In the United States, 29 million people have diabetes; about 90-95 percent of them have type 2

diabetes (CDC 2014). About 2.5 million Hispanic/Latino Americans are affected by diabetes (Hu

2010). The risk of diabetes seems to be higher than in early generations of Hispanic immigrants; a

study of Hispanics in the Sacramento area showed the risk increasing from the 1st (immigrants), to the

2nd and the 3rd generation (Afable-Munsuz 2013).

Diabetes disproportionately affects Hispanics (CDC 2014). Some reasons for this are: low

income, lack of knowledge, and inaccessibility to health care. A study in south Texas found that most

Hispanics do not know that type 2 diabetes is preventable (Millard 2011). Even if they know that it is

preventable, they are unable to access healthcare; private care is too expensive and public hospitals are

often overcrowded (Millard 2011). Language barriers also contribute to overall poor health (Hu 2010).

A study interviewing the health status of the Hispanic participants showed that 39% of Spanish-

speaking Hispanics—in contrast to 17% of English-speaking Hispanics—reported poor or fair health

status (Hu 2010).

Low income also impacts the diet of Hispanics. With low paying jobs, Hispanic workers have

little money to spend on a healthy diet. The long and hard workdays of low-income workers also leave

little time for exercise and food preparation (Valen 2012). What’s worse is that parents’ eating and

exercise habits influence their children (CDC 2015). Studies that have aimed to educate low-income

Hispanic populations about preventing diabetes through good nutrition and physical activity show

some success (Millard 2011).

Type 2 diabetes starts out with insulin resistance, a condition that makes the body’s cells unable

to use the insulin effectively. The pancreas then starts to make more insulin in order to make up for it.

As time goes on, the pancreas becomes exhausted and makes less insulin, which causes glucose in the

blood to rise. High blood glucose is dangerous because it can damage nerves and blood vessels, and

this can result in stroke, kidney disease, blindness, dental disease, and amputations. (NIDDK 2012)

Symptoms of diabetes are subtle or nonexistent, and people usually do not know that they have

diabetes until serious problems occur, such as heart problems and blurred vision. The subtle symptoms

of type 2 diabetes are increased hunger, increased thirst, increased urination, fatigue, unexplained

weight loss, blurred vision, numbness or tingling in the feet or hands, and sores that do not heal. One

of the main causes of type 2 diabetes is obesity, but other factors such as lack of exercise, poor diet,

smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, age, and genetics have a role as well. (NIDDK 2012)

There is one risk that many people would not see as a risk factor for diabetes: sleep problems.

Sleep problems such as sleep apnea and sleep deprivation can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes

(NIDDK 2012). Sleep apnea is a condition where you do not breathe regularly while you sleep, e.g.,

having regular pauses and/or shallow breathing (NHLBI 2012b). Sleep also helps maintain hormones

that make you feel hungry or full (NHLBI 2012a). With very little sleep, your body starts to produce

the hunger hormone, ghrelin, making you hungrier and eat more than you should (NHLBI 2012a).

Sleep deprivation also changes how your body reacts to insulin and increases your risk for obesity

(NNLBI 2012a).

Type 2 diabetes is strongly linked with family history and lineage, but depending on the

individual’s lifestyle, it can be delayed or prevented (ADA 2014). By being physically active every

day, regularly drinking water, eating healthy, maintaining a reasonable body weight, not smoking, and

lowering alcohol and fat intake can prevent or delay type 2 diabetes (NIDDK 2012). Getting enough

vitamin D has also been linked to maintaining a healthy blood-glucose level, but the exact dosages that

might help someone with diabetes or prevent it is unknown (NIDDK 2012). Lifestyle is important; it’s

not all genetics. In identical twins, for example, if one twin has diabetes, the other twin has a 50-75%

of having it also; it’s not 100% (ADA 2014).

Even though I am better off than most Hispanics, my diet and exercise have been poor lately.

College has been eating away at my free time, and I often find myself wanting to do nothing, or work

on personal projects. Since I commute, I have little time to prepare food. Getting enough sleep is also a

problem. Even though I do my homework ahead of time, my animation classes are much more intense

and trickier to manage.

Having seen what type-2 diabetes has done to my close relatives, I’ve been aware of the risks

of type 2 diabetes. Until now, however, I haven’t let the information sink in. This research paper has

made me focus on my risk for diabetes, and I am taking the small but gradual steps to lessen my

chance of getting it. I’ve been eating more vegetables, eating less junk food, learning how to prepare

healthy food, and weighing myself regularly to keep from becoming overweight. I’ve been sharing

with my parents what I’ve learned in researching this paper, and they’ve been supportive of my effort

to improve. They often even force me to get up and exercise.

Word Count: 936

References Cited

American Diabetes Association (ADA). (2014, May 20). Genetics of Diabetes. Retrieved from http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/genetics-of-diabetes.html

Afable-Munsuz (2013) Immigrant generation and diabetes risk among Mexican Americans: The Sacramento Area Latino Study on Aging. American Journal of Public Health.

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). (2015, Feb 27). Childhood Obesity Facts. Retrieved

from http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/obesity/

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). (2014). National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/statsreport14/national-diabetes-report- web.pdf

Hu (2010) Physical activity, obesity, nutritional health and quality of life in low-income Hispanic adults with diabetes. Journal of Community Health Nursing.

Millard (2011) Pilot of a diabetes prevention program in a hard to reach, low-income, immigrant Hispanic population. Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). (2012a, Feb 22). What are sleep deprivation and deficiency? Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). (2012b, July 10). What is sleep apnea? Retrieved from http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sleepapnea/

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). (2012, June). Am I at risk of diabetes? Taking steps to lower your risk of getting diabetes. Retrieved from http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-topics/Diabetes/type-2-diabetes-taking- steps-lower-your-risk-diabetes/Pages/index.aspx

Valen (2012) An innovative approach to diabetes education for Hispanic population utilizing community health workers. Journal of Cultural Diversity.