Breaking the Cycle: Diabetes and the Black Family
By Laila Al-Hakim
May 7, 2008
Last year, 72-year-old
Georgette Harris was admitted to
Her toe was amputated.
A year later, Harris was admitted back to the same hospital for the same procedure. Only this time, it was not another toe that had to get cut off; it was her whole lower left leg.
Gangrene, one of the severe symptoms of diabetic patients, had taken its toll on Harris.
"You would think she would have changed her diet and eating habits after she had to get her big toe cut off last year," said 28-year-old Otto Brown, Harris' grandson. "But she wouldn't listen to any of us [family] and she kept on eating the salty and greasy fried chicken, sweet potato pies, and other fattening foods. Now look at the situation we are all in. It's not just her, it's us."
3
million afflicted
Affecting more than three
million African-Americans ages 20 years and older, Diabetes Mellitus, or
elevated blood sugar, is a disease that can easily lead to serious
health complications like heart attacks and other cardiovascular
diseases, kidney disease, amputations, and blindness, reports the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Unable to pinpoint
exactly where the disease comes from, doctors are steadily trying to
find ways to control the sixth-leading cause of death in the
More startling is the disproportionate rate in which diabetes continues to affect African-Americans.
According to BlackHealthCare.Com, a Web site devoted to addressing the health care issues, 1.3 million African-Americans were diagnosed with diabetes in 1993.
Fifteen years later, the number of African-Americans living with diabetes has nearly doubled.
"African-Americans are now
twice as likely to get diabetes (Type 2) than the average white
American," explained diabetes expert Dr. J. Howard Shegog during the
"Health: Diabetes" workshop for
In addition to Shegog's numbers, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) reports that African-Americans are also 25 percent more likely to inherit diabetes between ages 65 and 74 and black women have a one in four chance of inheriting diabetes on or at the brink of age 55.
Risk factors like family history, obesity, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, smoking and high cholesterol are all ways to inherit the disease.
New
attitudes
“What’s most important is control!” said Shegog on fighting and preventing diabetes. "Self-knowledge, diet and exercise are all ways to self-control this disease that is affecting us and our community at such alarming rates."
After learning about unhealthy lifestyles linked with diabetes, some have the opportunity of changing their habits before serious health problems surface. But for most people, especially African-Americans, the chances of being diagnosed with diabetes are very high.
"I found out I had
diabetes when I was 25." said Miyoshi Williams, a
Williams, who is now age 33, has taken her diagnosis of diabetes as a wake-up call. “When I first got diagnosed with diabetes, I took it extremely hard. All the bad just started running through my mind and I had no clue what to do.
"But now, after eight years, I have learned to take a more positive approach to living with diabetes," said Williams. "It is livable, but each person has to make a choice if they want to let the disease run their lives or if they want to take control of what is going on with their body."
Along with her 5-year-old vegetarian diet, Williams now has a daily routine that includes a brisk 45-minute walk and quick yoga exercises to control her heart rate.
"It is so important for
patients to get regular physical exams and check-ups because we can
detect and look for not only diabetes, but pre-diabetes as well," said
Carol Montgomery, a Certified Registered Nurse at
Prevent an epidemic
Pre-diabetes occurs before
being diagnosed with diabetes Type 2, when the blood-sugar level is
higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes,
reports the
There are currently 54
million people living with pre-diabetes in the
"If pre-diabetes is
detected early enough," continues
Studies have shown that
people with pre-diabetes can prevent or delay the development of Type 2
diabetes by up to 58 percent by just eating healthy and exercising for
at least 30 minutes a day, reports the
“One of main issues—or the main issue—regarding African-Americans and
diabetes is education and awareness,” said Gale Pearson, motivational
speaker, dietician, and former president of the Virginia State Dietetic
Association. "People know it exists, but they don't know how to prevent
it from happening."
To help foster education in the black community, the CDC is working in a
joint venture with the National Diabetes Education Program and the
National Institute of Health to help faith-based and community
organizations get actively involved in deterring preventable diabetes
among African-Americans, according to the report, "New Resource for
Preventing Diabetes in African-Americans."
“Power to Prevent: A Family
Lifestyle Approach to Diabetes Prevention”
is the title of the interactive educational kit by the CDC and its
partners, and it provides hands-on instruction and guidance in making
behavior changes that can help prevent diabetes.
The Power to Prevent program includes 12 interactive group sessions that
show families how to make better health and lifestyle choices, including
changing daily habits, incorporating exercise routines into their
schedules, and maintaining portion control during meals.
“We know that churches, faith-based organizations and community groups can
be very effective in helping people learn about diabetes, and in helping
take steps that can prevent diabetes for most people,” said Ann
Albright, director of CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation. “That’s
why we created this new tool. We need faith and community-based
organizations to be actively involved in diabetes prevention among their
members, and with this easy-to-use program, they can do that
effectively.”
Al-Hakim is a
senior at
For more information on
diabetes, visit www.diabetes.org