Diabetes Cases Among Minorities Present Major Challenges for Smaller Cities of The rates of diabetes-related hospitalization among Hispanics vary quite widely …
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
For Immediate Release
Contact: Catherine Herman 518 956-8150
mediarelations@uamailalbanyedu
Diabetes Cases Among Minorities Present Major Challenges for Smaller Cities
of New York State, Finds UAlbany CEMHD Report
ALBANY, NY September 13, 2006 — The rates of diabetes-related
hospitalizations among blacks and the degree of disparity in relation to
whites are on par in major upstate cities to what is found in New York
City, according the University at Albanys Center for the Elimination of
Minority Health Disparities CEMHD in a new report The study, The Quiet
Crisis: Minority-Majority Disparities for Diabetes in Upstate New York
Cities finds that the rates of hospitalization for blacks living in most
upstate cities are typically as high or higher than they are for New York
City The hospitalization rates of blacks exceed the rates for whites by
substantial margins in every location
The report follows up on a New York Times series earlier this year that
called attention to the epidemic of diabetes in New York Citys minority
communities That epidemic appears to be occurring in the
African-American
communities in other New York cities In reaching this conclusion, the
report considers four types of diagnoses that lead to hospitalization for
persons with diabetes: short-term diabetes complications such as coma and
ketoacidosis; long-term complications, which involve kidney, visual and
neurological complications due to poorly controlled diabetes; uncontrolled
diabetes; and lower-extremity amputations due to diabetes The report
relies on hospitalization records because diabetes is not reported by
physicians to the state health department and because many individuals with
diabetes are unaware of their condition; hence, there is no simple, direct
way to measure diabetes prevalence in the general population
The rates of diabetes-related hospitalization among Hispanics vary quite
widely across the state, and so does the disparity in relation to whites
For instance, for short-term diabetes complications, the Hispanic
hospitalization rates in upstate cities are mostly higher than is true in
New York City, but because white rates also tend to be higher upstate, the
degree of disparity between Hispanics and whites is frequently lower
outside of New York City For
long-term diabetes complications, the
Hispanic rates are mostly lower upstate than in New York City, and so is
the degree of disparity with whites The researchers conclude that several
factors may hold responsibility for the fluctuation, such as higher rates
of recent immigration to upstate cities, the reluctance of undocumented
immigrants to call attention to themselves and their medical problems, or
ethnic underreporting by health providers
These possible explanations suggest that the rates of hospitalization in
this report underestimate the prevalence of diabetes and the problems of
primary care in upstate Hispanic communities, said David Strogatz, Chair
of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University at
Albany School of Public Health and a co-author of the report
For the minority populations upstate, the disparities revealed in this
report demonstrate that the epidemic of diabetes is not confined to the
largest cities and metropolitan regions, where the extreme problems of
residential segregation and poverty might be thought to contribute to the
higher incidence of this disease, added Richard Alba, the other co-author,
who is also a Distinguished
Professor of Sociology at the University at
Albany In general diabetes is as much a problem in the smaller cities of
the state as it is in the largest cities
Among the Findings:
No matter what diagnosis is considered, hospitalization for diabetes
is substantially higher for blacks in every major city than for whites
New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Niagara Falls,
Poughkeepsie, Schenectady, Utica, Troy, Binghamton, Middletown,
Kingston Depending on the diagnosis and the city, the black rate is
between one-and-a-half and eight times higher than the corresponding
white rate
For Hispanics, the most consistent disparities are observed upstate
for short-term diabetes complications For most upstate cities and
especially for those with the largest Hispanic concentrations
Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, and Middletown, by number of
Hispanics, Hispanic hospitalization rates are higher than in New York
City and higher than is true for whites In the upstate cities with
the most Hispanics, the disparity in relation to whites is often as
high as that observed for New York City The
pattern for this
diagnosis is very significant because urgent medical events, such as
coma, are often involved and thus immigrants are unable to avoid
hospitalization
As an NIH EXPORT Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach,
Research on Health Disparities and Training center, UAlbanys Center for
the Elimination of Minority Health Disparities will identify health
problems and seek ways to reduce and eventually eliminate, minority health
inequities by building the Universitys health disparities research
capacity and by strengthening community partners ability to collaborate on
research and intervention programs Under the direction of Lawrence Schell,
professor of anthropology and epidemiology at the University at Albany,
CEMHD seeks to make a significant difference in the health of our
communities by facilitating university-community partnerships to determine
local causes of health disparities and then to determine the best, most
community-relevant solutions For more information, visit CEMHD
http://wwwalbanyedu/cemhd/
The University at Albanys broad mission of excellence in undergraduate and
graduate education, research, and public service engages
17,000 diverse
students in 10 schools and colleges For more information about this
internationally ranked institution, visit wwwalbanyedu For UAlbanys
extensive roster of faculty experts, visit wwwalbanyedu/news/expertshtm
Source:msu.edu
