Wed 3 Oct 2007
Why is diabetes worse for African-Americans and Latinos than it is for white Americans? A new study offers answers — but raises more questions.University of Michigan researcher Michele Heisler, MD, MPA, and colleagues sent detailed questionnaires — and home blood-sugar-control test kits — to 1,901 African-American, Latino, and white diabetes patients aged 55 or older.
The blood tests confirmed what previous studies have shown: average hemoglobin A1c values (a measure of blood sugar control in diabetes) are much higher for African-American and Latino patients than for white patients. This disparity holds up even when researchers compare people with the same incomes and with the same access to health care.