Abstract
This paper discusses the diabetes “epidemic” (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, [herein after CDC] https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/diabetes-stat-report.html ) in the United States. Specifically, the paper will discuss the racial disparity in diabetes disease prevalence and impacts between African Americans and Whites in the United States. The disproportionate prevalence, impacts, treatment, and care of diabetes between African Americans and Whites is particularly manifested in the diabetes related lower extremity amputations (LEA) undergone by African Americans compared to their White counterparts pertinent to causal, predisposing, and preventive factors. Through comparative analysis and using diabetic amputation rates, extant LEA encounter studies and data in the literature will be used to analyze and demonstrate “The Black American Amputation Epidemic” with implications for public policy and public health. Methodically, the paper conducted systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies, government reports, secondary data, PubMed articles, Google Scholar Databases, published references. Consistent with existing empirical literature, the paper find and conclude that African Americans and other racial minorities suffer disproportionate preventable diabetes induced LEAs and deaths compared to Whites, further widening racial health care disparity problem. In addition, the paper adds to the body of knowledge and awareness of the increasing problem of diabetes on the African American population health germane to public policy intervention to reduce, if not totally eliminate the problem. Policy interventions including robust diabetes mitigation policy and leadership in the American health care system, more funding, research, education, better management, and preventive care for all patients at risk of amputation should be pursued, especially focusing on the historically underserved population. In this paper, the terms “Black (s),” “Black Americans,” “African Americans,” “racial minorities” and “people of color” are used interchangeably. Keywords: Diabetes, race, Black, White, health disparity, amputation, policy, United States DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/95-10 Publication date: November 30 th 2021
Highlights
According to the World Health Organization [ after WHO] the number of people with diabetes increased from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014, while the prevalence of diabetes among adults over 18 years of age rose from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014 (WHO, 2020)
Recommendations This paper examined the diabetes “epidemic” in the United States and its devastating impact on African www.iiste.org
The paper find that diabetes has disproportionate impact on the health of African Americans, especially lower limb amputations, and, it has widened the gap in health disparity between African Americans and Whites
Summary
According to the World Health Organization [ after WHO] the number of people with diabetes increased from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014, while the prevalence of diabetes among adults over 18 years of age rose from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014 (WHO, 2020). Diabetes is the number one cause of kidney failure, lower-limb amputations, and adult blindness in the United States (CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html). According to the CDC (Diabetes - https://www.cdc.gov/media/presskits/aahd/diabetes.pdf): African Americans are 1.7 times as likely to develop diabetes as whites The prevalence of diabetes among blacks has quadrupled during the past 30 years Among blacks age 20 and older, about 2.3 million have diabetes – 10.8 percent of that age group Blacks with diabetes are more likely than non-Hispanic whites to experience greater disability from diabetes-related complications such as amputations, adult blindness, kidney failure, and increased risk of heart disease and stroke Death rates for blacks with diabetes are 27 percent higher than for whites.
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