Diabetes Risk and Control in Multi-ethnic US Immigrant Populations.

Jennifer Dias, Sandra Echeverria, Victoria Mayer, Teresa Janevic

Journal: Current diabetes reports 2021;20(12):73

PMID: 33216289

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Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The goal of this review is to assess current evidence on diabetes risk and control among adult immigrants in the USA.

RECENT FINDINGS

Patterns of diabetes risk in US immigrants may reflect global diabetes trends. Asian, Black, and Latinx immigrants all see a diabetes disadvantage relative to US-born Whites. Diabetes risk in Asian immigrants also surpasses US-born Asians. Relative diabetes risk among all groups increases with time in the USA. Research to explain patterns in diabetes risk and control among immigrants has broadened from lifestyle factors to include multi-level, life course influences on trajectories of risk. Some determinants are shared across groups, such as structural racism, healthcare access, and migration stress, whereas others such as diet are embedded in sending country culture. Current literature on diabetes in immigrant populations suggests a need to shift towards a transnational lens and macro-level social determinants of health framework to understand diabetes risk and potential prevention factors.

Address: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.; Department of Public Health Education, School of Health and Human Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA.; General Internal Medicine, Population Health Science & Policy, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.; Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science, Population Health Science & Policy, Blavatnik Family Women's Health Research Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. [email protected].

DOI: 10.1007/s11892-020-01358-0