Not All Patients With Diabetes Are Treated Equally
For those living with type 2 diabetes, care and health outcomes can vary widely between racial, ethnic and economic groups. What can be done to reduce these disparities?
Across the US, those living with type 2 diabetes regularly face obstacles to care. Perhaps they can’t afford treatment and have to choose between rent and diabetes medications. Perhaps they can’t understand their doctor’s instructions because they don’t speak the same language or are hard of hearing. Or perhaps their doctor’s instructions run counter to cultural beliefs or norms.
“These are just a few of the challenges facing patients,” says Michelle Litchman, a Researcher and Medical Director of the Intensive Diabetes Education and Support Program at the Utah Diabetes and Endocrinology Center. Litchman investigates real-world management of diabetes and other chronic diseases.
“We see that [people] want to take care of themselves,” she says, but they often have to choose between care and say, cost or stigma or taking time from work. Opting out of care only worsens diabetes and can heighten the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is already the leading cause of death for those living with type 2 diabetes.
An estimated 34.1 million adults in the U.S. have diabetes, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and between 90 and 95 percent of them have type 2 diabetes. That is about 13 percent of the 18+ population. The figure doubles to 26 percent when looking at populations of 65 and older.
Higher still is the incidence of type 2 diabetes among minority and economically disadvantaged populations, when compared with non-Hispanic white people or the wealthy. Deaths from CVD among type 2 diabetes patients within those communities can be up to seven times greater than wealthier ones.
Such inequities have been studied for decades, and it’s clear that addressing them will relieve suffering and prolong life for those living with type 2 diabetes. The question is how best to do so.
(Adapted from https://www.scientificamerican.com/custom-media/not-all-patients-with-diabetes-are-treated-equally/?mvt=i&mvn=96560a24688a45acb0eaa4f45ca47b22&mvp=NA-SCIEAMERLIVE-11237933&mvl=ArticleLatest)
De acordo com o texto, a diabetes tipo 2