Blacks,
Hispanics Prone To Diabetes Complications
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Blacks and Hispanics with diabetes
are more likely than whites to require repeat hospitalization
for complications related to their condition, according to
a new report.
"The
data don't tell you whether the poor outcomes result from
lack of access to care or poor quality of care," Dr.
H. Joanna Jiang from the Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality, Rockville, Maryland told Reuters Health. "However,
the results do alert us of the need for improved coordination
between hospitals and community physicians for diabetes care."
Jiang
and her colleagues used hospital discharge data from five
states to examine racial and ethnic differences in hospital
re- admissions for diabetes-related conditions.
At the
initial admission, blacks had the highest rates of acute complications
and high blood pressure, Hispanics had the highest rate for
kidney disease, and whites had the highest percentages of
heart disease and depression.
Rates
of re-admission within 180 days were highest among Hispanics,
the team reports in the American Journal of Public Health,
while blacks had higher re-admission rates than whites among
patients who were Medicare beneficiaries.
Hispanics
had a significantly higher risk of re-admission than whites
only among those from lower-income communities, the researchers
note.
"Future
studies and efforts should focus on those cultural (including
diet, health beliefs), economic, and community factors that
may contribute to the observed racial and ethnic disparities
in diabetes outcomes." Jiang said.
"Efforts
to reduce potentially preventable hospitalizations for diabetes
should address not only the general diabetic population, but
also, and more specifically, those who already have been hospitalized
at least once," she added. "These patients may be
good candidates for more intensive treatment and disease management."
SOURCE:
American Journal of Public Health, 2006.
2006 Reuters
Health
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