1st EVER South Asian & Diabetes Conference

The Friedman Diabetes Institute of Beth Isreal Medical Center and the South Asian Health Initiative (SAHI) of the New York Center for Immigrant Health present a roundtable

"South Asians & Diabetes"

When: Wednesday, May 20, 2009,
Time: 10:00am - 2:00pm
Location: Podell Auditorium, Bernstein Pavillon, Beth Isreal Medical Center (First Avenue and 6th)

For more information, contact Claire O'Conner at oconnerpr@aol.com or 212.245.5784

Unemployment Hazardous to Your Health?

According to a New York Times article posted on May 8, 2009, a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed employment and health data from 8,125 individuals surveyed in 1999, 2001, and 2003 by the U.S. Panel of Income Dynamics. The report indicated that individuals who lost their job (at no fault of their own), were twice as likely to report developing illness such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or heart disease, compared to individuals who were continually employed.

Interestingly enough, these illness are also considering the leading causes of mortality among South Asian Americans. What does this mean for the South Asian Community? What does this mean for undocumented South Asian Americans?

Prevalence of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease in Indians in the U.S.

Two articles from 2004 show an increased prevalence of diabetes within the Asian Indian population compared to Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics in two separate cohorts in the U.S. The investigators who wrote the article which also studied CVD found no apparent increase in prevalence or risk. There are limited studies regarding chronic conditions in South Asians in the United States; the majority of studies pertaining to chronic conditions in South Asians to date have been done in the United Kingdom or Canada.

The abstracts and citations of the two studies are provided below.

1. Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus and Related Conditions in Asian Indians Living in the United States

Rajesh Venkataraman, MD, MPH, Navin C. Nanda, MD, Gurpreet Baweja, MD, Naresh Parikh, MD, and Vishal Bhatia, MD

This study is the first attempt to evaluate the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and related conditions in Asian Indians living in the United States. A community- based survey of 1,046 Asian Indian immigrants living in and around the Atlanta metro area of Georgia was conducted and found an overall prevalence of diabetes mellitus of 18.3% (22.5% in men and 13.6% in women). This prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Asian Indians is much higher than in whites, blacks, and Hispanics living in the United States.

2004 by Excerpta Medica, Inc. (Am J Cardiol 2004;94:977–980)
• • •
From the Division of Cardiovascular Disease, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Nanda’s address is: The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Heart Station/ Echocardiography Laboratories, 619 South 19th Street, SW-S102, Birmingham, Alabama 35249. E-mail: nanda@uab.edu. Manuscript received April 2, 2004; revised manuscript received and accepted June 16, 2004.

2. Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Among Asian Indians in the United States
Sarita A. Mohanty, MD, MPH,1 Steffie Woolhandler, MD, MPH,2 David U. Himmelstein,2 MD,
David H. Bor, MD2

1Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatric and General Internal Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA;
2Department of Medicine, Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.

CONTEXT: Studies, mostly from outside the United States, have found high prevalence of diabetes, coronary heart disease (CHD), and hypertension among Asian Indians, despite low rates of associated risk factors.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prevalence of obesity, diabetes, CHD, hypertension, and other associated risk factors among Asian Indians in the United States compared to non-Hispanic whites.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND SUBJECTS: Cross-sectional study using data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) for 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000. We analyzed 87,846 non-Hispanic whites and 555 Asian Indians.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Whether a subject reported having diabetes, CHD, or hypertension.
RESULTS: Asian Indians had lower average body mass indices (BMIs) than non-Hispanic whites and lower rates of tobacco use, but were less physically active. In multivariate analysis controlling for age and BMI, Asian Indians had significantly higher odds of borderline or overt diabetes (adjusted OR [AOR], 2.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.72 to 4.23). Multivariate analysis also showed that Asian Indians had nonsignificantly lower odds ratios for CHD (AOR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.25 to 1.35) and significantly lower odds of reporting hypertension (AOR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.42 to 0.82) compared to non-Hispanic whites.
CONCLUSION: Asian Indians in the United States have higher odds of being diabetic despite lower rates of obesity. Unlike studies on Asian Indians in India and the United Kingdom, we found no evidence of an elevated risk of CHD or hypertension. We need more reliable national data on Asian Indians to understand their particular health behaviors and cardiovascular risks. Research and preventive efforts should focus on reducing diabetes among Asian Indians.
KEY WORDS: Asian Indian; diabetes; coronary heart disease; hypertension; obesity.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1525-1497.2005.40294.x
J GEN INTERN MED 2005; 20:474–478.

Breast Feeding Benefits the Health of Women

In today's, April 22, 2009, New York Times Health Section, an article is posted on a recent study descibing the benefits of women breast-feeding. According to the study, women who breast feed are at lower risks for high blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, a lower risk for women in the leading health concerns amongst South Asians.

"The benefits increase with duration of past breast-feeding, the study found. Women who had breast-fed for more than a year in their entire lifetimes were almost 10 percent less likely than those who had never breast-fed to have had a heart attack or a stroke in their postmenopausal years. They were also less likely to have diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol."

For more information on breast feeding and the benefits on infants, please refer to: http://www.fda.gov/Fdac/features/895_brstfeed.html

To read the entire NYT article, please visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/22/health/research/22breast.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

New Survey Results Show Burden of Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease that disproportionately affects South Asians.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a national study that showed in the United States, nearly 13 percent of adults age 20 and older have diabetes, but 40 percent of them have not been diagnosed, according to epidemiologists from the NIH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose study includes newly available data from an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT).  Diabetes is especially common in the elderly: nearly one-third of those age 65 and older have the disease.  An additional 30 percent of adults have pre-diabetes, a condition marked by elevated blood sugar that is not yet in the diabetic range. 

For more information regarding this report, please visit: http://diabetes.org/diabetescare

IHT.com Article: Diwali Sweets Losing Their Allure

Diwali Sweets Losing Their Allure
The Associated Press
Monday, Oct. 13, 2008


For thousands of years, Diwali celebrations have had a sweet embrace on India.
Surgery treats, or mithai, have long been central to this Hindu festival of lights - sweet, fudgy goodies rich with cardamon, pistachio, and saffron, often coated an ethereal foil of pure silver. They are eagerly eaten, given as gifts, offered to the gods.

Read more at: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/13/asia/AS-FEA-India-Bittersweet-Diwali.php.