EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- People who live along the U.S.-Mexico border suffer
diabetes at a rate somewhat higher than the national averages in either country,
according to a study released Wednesday.
The study showed 15.7 percent of border residents suffer from Type 2 diabetes
compared to a national average of 13.9 percent in the United States and 14.9
percent in Mexico, said Dr. Joxel Garcia, deputy director of the Pan American
Health Organization, which coordinated the bi-national study.
"We were underestimating the amount of diabetes we have here and the amount
of obesity and overweight (people) that we have here. It gives us a reality
check," Garcia said.
More than 1.2 million border residents -- 700,000 in the United States and
500,000 in Mexico -- suffer from diabetes, according to the study. Most of the
problem is attributed to poor diet and lack of exercise.
The study included interviews of about 4,000 randomly selected people, more
than 88 percent of whom were Hispanic.
Some experts have said that a diet consisting of too much meat and fat, and a
tendency for adults to become sedentary as they age, is part of a border culture
that contributes to the problem.
Garcia said the study showed more than 75 percent of border residents are
overweight or obese, conditions that put people at increased risk of diabetes.
Participants in the study included the federal Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, the Mexico Secretariat de Salud and many state, county and local
health departments. The surveys of households in every state along both sides of
the border included interviews, body size and blood pressure measurements and
blood tests.
The study also showed that 4.3 percent of border residents had diabetes but
weren't aware of it until they received their test results. Another 13.9 percent
of the population suffered from pre-diabetes, a condition characterized by
elevated blood sugar levels that puts a person at greater risk of developing the
disease.
Diabetes is the single largest cause of blindness, kidney failure and
lower-limb amputations, said Dr. Laurance Nickey, former head of the El Paso
City-County Health and Environmental District and a diabetic himself.
The study results are part of the first phase of the project, which also will
include prevention and education recommendations.
