Washington, Oct 21 (Efeusa) .- Non-clinical aspects, such as the doctor who attends a patient knows their language and culture, are key in the treatment and prevention of diabetes, a disease that suffers more than 26 millionof people in the United States, 12 % of which are estimated to be Latin.
This was assured today to Efe the Preventive Medicine professor of the Northwestern University of Chicago, the Puerto Rican doctor and medical sociologist Aida L. Giachello, during the first day of the sixth annual forum of collaboration against disparity, of the American Diabetes Association.
"Apart from the clinical aspects, there are other elements to consider when diabetes is treated, such as what we call cultural skills, which are all we learn during our life, and that it is important that the doctor knows," Giachello explained.
For the Northwestern University teacher, a doctor who is familiar with the culture of the patient or who speaks his language will have more tools to serve him better and will offer him a more satisfactory treatment.
Giachello pointed out as an example of cultural competence that knowing the "myth of scare", the belief extended in Mexico that when a diabetic is diagnosed with the disease after an accident is due to the scare that has caused him and not to be sufferedBefore the ailment, it can help correct risk behaviors.
Because the doctor and sociologist stressed that the population "has to raise awareness" of the risk of suffering this disease that is the first cause of new cases of blindness, amputations and kidney problems in the United States, as well as one of the main causes ofDeath, he explained.
Thus, he recommended maintaining a varied diet, avoiding fast food establishments, taking five rations of daily fruit and vegetables and performing about 30 minutes of physical activity every day, with five minutes of high intensity.
Diabetes is a disease that causes the body not to produce enough insulin, which prevents it from processing the sugars it ingests and the American Diabetes Association defines it as an "epidemic" and a "health crisis" in the United States to day to day to daytoday.
As many of its symptoms appear to be harmless, of the 26 million diabetics in the United States, it is estimated that some 7 million do not know that they suffer from the disease.
Its incidence is greater than the average between minorities such as Latin, the African -American or the Asian, something that Giachello attributed to the highest rates of obesity and poverty that occur in these communities, which makes it difficult for access to a healthier food andHealth care.
In this sense, Giachelo said that the health reform known as "Obamacare" will be "positive" for these minorities, since so far "they were marginalized from health and many had diabetes and neither knew or had to settle for home remedies".
"Before, if you were poor and diabetic, you could not have medical insurance," said the doctor, although he clarified that "with 'Obamacare' has improved the situation, but it is not perfect, because the undocumented and the employees ofcompanies with less than 25 workers ".
It is estimated that every year diabetes costs the United States 245 million dollars, between health care and losses to companies.
In addition, approximately 79 million Americans suffer from prediabetes, have blood glucose levels greater than normal ones even though not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes, although they are in a risk situation.
They are directed a new clinical essay that the National Institute of Health of the United States announced today, to investigate whether vitamin D supplements help prevent or eliminate theDiabetes development.