[Durham INC] The Diabetes Improvement Project - Duke University

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Please take advantage of this  free program for African American Males 
 
 
The  Diabetes Improvement Project is an initiative aimed at assisting  
African-American adults with type 2 diabetes to take better control of their  
diabetes.  Our work is based on the idea that, in order to improve their  
health, people need appropriate knowledge, support, and resources; we have  
helped our participants and our communities meet these needs and we would like  
to give more people the opportunity to benefit from what we have to offer. 
To  participate or get more information, please contact: 

REFERENCE:  WANDA BOONE 
Michael  Scott 
michael.e.scott at duke.edu 
919-613-6313   
The  Herald-Sun 
Keeping  healthy, staying alive 
Prevalence of diabetes in Durham especially dire  among black population

Originally  published in: The Herald-Sun Friday, July 28, 2006 Edition: 
Final Page: A1  
BY GREGORY PHILLIPS gphillips at heraldsun.com, 919-419-6636

Renita  Henry knows how dangerous diabetes can be.  
The  51-year-old watched her older brother, Larry Tucker, die in November 
of  complications from the disease, and it wasn't pleasant.  
"He  was on dialysis and blind," she said.  
Henry  was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes eight months before that -- she's 
one of five  among nine siblings who have it -- and knows she can't afford 
to make the same  mistakes her brother did.  
"He  was really in denial about having it," Henry said.  
That's  a problem medical providers in Durham -- where one in 12 people is 
diabetic --  know all too well.  
The  situation is especially dire among the county's black population in 
which  diabetes and related complications are the fourth-leading cause of 
death. Among  county residents overall, it's the eighth-leading cause of death.  
 
"There  are a lot of people walking around diabetic that don't know about 
it," said Gail  Albergo, who runs the adult diabetes clinic at Lincoln 
Community Health Center  on Fayetteville Street.  
New  cases every day  
The  clinic sees one or two new diabetes cases every day and now treats 
2,700  diabetics, 60 percent of whom are black.  
Although  the poverty rate in the black population is higher, studies 
suggest that income  alone doesn't account for an accompanying higher obesity 
rate.   
While  both are risk factors for diabetes, they can't account for its 
prevalence among  black people. Some researchers believe blacks could have a 
genetic  predisposition towards the condition.  
Diabetes  mellitus -- the disease's full name -- is the failure of the body 
to produce  enough insulin, the hormone that allows sugar in the blood to 
be absorbed by the  body's cells, which need it for fuel.  
Symptoms  include a constant need to urinate, fatigue, shortness of breath, 
blurred vision  or wounds not healing. The effects can range from limb loss 
to blindness to  kidney failure. And, as in Tucker's case, they can be 
fatal.   
Sufferers  of Type 1 diabetes (also known as juvenile diabetes), whose 
bodies produce no  insulin and rely on daily insulin injections, usually are 
diagnosed by the time  they reach adolescence. No one knows for sure what 
causes it, but some think it  may be genetic.  
Type  2 diabetics have become resistant to insulin and their bodies don't 
produce  enough to compensate. People who are overweight and don't exercise 
enough are  more likely to contract Type 2 diabetes, which can be controlled 
through a  combination of medication, diet and exercise.  
Also  known as adult-onset diabetes, it's the condition that causes the 
most headaches  for medical providers. Many at-risk people don't realize they 
have it -- or  don't want to, even though they may know they're at risk 
through family history.   
"We  do have patients that have neglected their health," Albergo said. 
"They don't  come in until they're really unhealthy."  
Reluctance  based on fear  
Their  reasons usually are based on fear -- fear of what managing the 
condition could  cost them and fear of the loss of limbs, blindness and kidney 
damage that can  come along with the condition.  
"A  lot of people are afraid if they become diabetic this is their future," 
Albergo  said.  
The  tragedy is that needn't happen if the condition is managed properly.   
Katoshi  Aashad, 35, developed gestational diabetes while pregnant 12 years 
ago.   
Although  generally a temporary condition caused by insulin-blocking 
placental hormones,  Aashad was left with permanent Type 2 diabetes. For years she 
struggled with her  blood sugar, but 2 1/2 years ago Aashad started seeing 
a nutritionist from  Lincoln every week.  
"I  said I had tried everything and I was really discouraged, but she's 
really  helped me," Aashad said. "I don't have to take my shots right now. I 
maintain  with diet and exercise."  
Aashad  walks and stretches regularly and bakes or broils food instead of 
frying it. She  was quick to adjust to a routine of medication, doctor 
appointments, diet and  exercise. But some people struggle.  
"There's  another segment we just have to step back and work on one thing 
at a time," said  social worker Nicole Wheedon.  
She  maintains a caseload of around 40 patients from eight medical provider 
sites  across the county in the Duke-run Durham Community Health Network.   
Healthful  eating  
Wheedon,  who helps patients alter their lifestyles to manage diabetes, 
said unhealthy  eating habits usually are the hardest to break, whether giving 
up full-sugar  sodas or eating fruits and vegetables instead of unhealthy 
snacks.   
"It's  hard for them to even understand the concept of cutting back, 
sometimes,"  Wheedon said.  
Adding  to the problem is that patients who don't feel ill sometimes skip 
appointments.   
"Diabetes  is one of those conditions that doesn't always make you feel 
bad," Wheedon said.  "It's out of sight, out of mind."  
That  can create a cycle of health complications and subsequent treatment, 
followed by  more missed appointments.  
"Taking  medication and not coming to see your doctor, that's not going to 
work," Albergo  said.  
Henry  -- whose diabetes was caught during a routine checkup -- knows that 
now and  she's taking no chances.  
"I  knew what happened to my brother," she said.  
Sodas  and sugary snacks are out; water and walking with a partner is in.   
"I'm  doing better drinking water," she said. "At one time I was not a 
water drinker.  ... I had to learn all the good things to do."  
DURHAM  COUNTY: DIABETES BY THE NUMBERS  
A  statewide survey that targeted Durham County for sampling found:   
*12,490  county residents -- 8 percent of the population -- diagnosed with 
diabetes.   
*3,600  with undiagnosed diabetes (estimated).  
*8,440  with pre-diabetes.  
*1,510  with early "gestational" diabetes.  
Of  the county's diagnosed diabetics:  
*84  percent are overweight or obese.  
*78  percent don't eat five fruits or vegetables per day.  
*71  percent don't meet physical activity recommendations.  
*11  percent could not afford medications.  
*44  percent had received no diabetes education classes.  
Source:  Behavior Risk Factor Survey System, State Center for Health 
Statistics  
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