Awareness of Diabetes Among Hispanics Is High, but Behavior Lags

LOS ANGELES (LATimes) June 6, 2004 — Most Hispanic/Hispanic Americans with type 2 diabetes do not act on what they know about the disease, according to an American Heart Association survey.

According to the poll, more than 92 percent of Hispanics/Hispanics with diabetes agree strongly that diet and physical activity are as important as taking medicine; 78 percent said they are willing to increase physical activity to better control their diabetes. Risk factors, such as obesity, physical inactivity and family history of diabetes, are top of mind with Hispanics/Hispanics, yet their behavior does not reflect this knowledge, survey findings show. Forty-nine percent reported a body mass index measurement (BMI) in the obese or morbidly obese range.
 

"We are encouraged to see from the survey that many people recognize the importance of making lifestyle changes and how these changes can improve the management of conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, but we're still a long way off," said Robert Bonow, M.D., president of the American Heart Association. "These findings help us understand that, while members of the Hispanic/Hispanic community are eager to manage their health and diabetes, they may not have all the tools to help them do so."
 

The American Heart Association developed The Heart Of Diabetes: Understanding Insulin Resistance program to help combat the problem among Hispanics/Hispanics -- who are twice as likely as Caucasians to have diabetes.
 

Award-winning actress Rita Moreno, whose mother and sister-in-law died of type 2 diabetes-related vascular disease, is national spokesperson for the program and hopes to help educate the Hispanic/Hispanic community.
 

"I wish The Heart Of Diabetes had been around when my mother needed it," said Moreno, renowned for her roles in West Side Story, The Electric Company and currently HBO's Oz. "The information and interactive tools really help families to understand their diabetes and reduce their risk for heart disease. The Shape Your Family History Tree, for example, is an ideal tool that gets people thinking about their family's health and, hopefully, will enable them to work more closely with their health care team."
 

The survey also found that Hispanics/Hispanics rely a lot more on family than Caucasians do to make decisions on health. In fact, 20 percent turn first to family members for medical information and counsel, versus 9 percent of Caucasians.
 

"The upside to that is the network of support we have; the downside is family members don't always have all the right information," said Moreno, the first actress to win all four major entertainment awards (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony).
 

Accurate information is key to making appropriate lifestyle changes, says Jorge Plutzky, M.D., preventive cardiologist, Harvard Medical School, and spokesperson for the American Heart Association.
 

"In my experience, many are familiar with the basic issues surrounding diabetes and heart disease and know how lifestyle habits influence these conditions, even if that knowledge is not always acted upon," said Plutzky. "We are learning more and more about the important impact lifestyle changes and appropriate therapy can have on outcomes. This program is an important vehicle to draw the correlation between cardiovascular disease, diabetes and insulin resistance," he said.
 

Five hundred people with type 2 diabetes were surveyed (306 Caucasians, 107 African Americans and 87 Hispanic/Hispanic Americans) to determine their level of awareness about diabetes, cardiovascular disease and insulin resistance. Other key findings are:

• Cardiovascular disease risks -- More than 70 percent of Hispanics/Hispanics realize diabetes increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, but only 40 percent consider it among the most serious diabetes-related complications.
   

• HbA1C -- Seventy-three percent of Hispanic/Hispanic patients agree their diabetes is well controlled. The majority (65 percent) had a glycosylated hemoglobin A1C test (a measure of average blood glucose levels over a 90-120 day period) in the past year. Yet the majority of them (61 percent) could not recall their last test score.
   

• Insulin resistance -- Only a third of Hispanic/Hispanic patients think insulin resistance contributes significantly to heart disease. Studies show insulin resistance, a condition in which the body doesn't respond efficiently to the insulin it produces, seems to predispose a person to both cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The Heart Of Diabetes is free and includes educational tools such as a guide that explains the diabetes-cardiovascular disease connection and a journal to track weight, exercise, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. To enroll in The Heart Of Diabetes, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit their Web site. Program materials are available in English and Spanish.