Health
Diabetes risks for Southeast Asians
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Aug. 7, 2006
Cambodians, Hmongs, Laotians and Vietnamese who often arrive in the United States as refugees face a frequently unrecognized risk for uncontrolled diabetes, said Jane Kelly, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Diabetes Education Program.
She released a new CDC publication at the American Diabetes Assn. meeting, "Silent Trauma: Diabetes, Health Status and the Refugee Experience Among Southeast Asians in the United States."
Although there is limited information on the prevalence and rates of complications among U.S. Southeast Asian populations, type 2 diabetes risk increases at a lower body mass index for Asians than for other ethnic groups.
Thus their risk is often underestimated because of a characteristic smaller body build.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2006/08/07/hlbf0807.htm.
