Ethnic gap in coronary artery disease: comparison of the extent, severity, and risk factors in Arab and Jewish middle-aged women

The Current and Forecasted Status of Type 2 Diabetes in the Arab Society of Israel

BACKGROUND

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is considered one of the main causes of mortality, morbidity, and health care expenditures. Effectively treating this disease is of crucial importance and imposes a global challenge. The incidence of Type 2 DM (T2DM) is rapidly rising in both developing and developed countries. The Arab community in Israel is a distinct ethnic group with unique characteristics. Recently, this community has undergone major changes in its lifestyle, adopting the Westernized one, which could have caused an increase in the T2DM incidence rate.

OBJECTIVE

This review aims to shed light on various studies undertaken to explore the prevalence of diabetes and determine its current status in the Arab society of Israel, resting on previous and current data. It is presented to highlight the status of diabetes globally and to focus on its current situation in the Arab society of Israel, attempting to forecast its direction in the upcoming decade.

METHODS

Data were obtained from our previous comprehensive socio-economic and health crosssectional surveys for successive periods from 2004 to 2017. These surveys were conducted on the Arab society of Israel by the Galilee Society.

RESULTS

Our results showed a progressive increase in the prevalence of T2DM from 3.4% to 7.6% in the Arab society of Israel. This trend is expected to continue rising in the coming decade, and based on our predictions, may exceed 12% in 2030.

CONCLUSION

Substantial and practical health-related actions must be initiated to prevent an increasing number of adults from developing diabetes and its complications.

Inequalities in non-communicable diseases between the major population groups in Israel: achievements and challenges

Israel is a high-income country with an advanced health system and universal health-care insurance. Overall, the health status has improved steadily over recent decades. We examined differences in morbidity, mortality, and risk factors for selected non-communicable diseases (NCDs) between subpopulation groups. Between 1975 and 2014, life expectancy in Israel steadily increased and is currently above the average life expectancy for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries. Nevertheless, life expectancy has remained lower among Israeli Arabs than Israeli Jews, and this gap has recently widened. Age-adjusted mortality as a result of heart disease, stroke, or diabetes remains higher in Arabs, whereas age-adjusted incidence and mortality of cancer were higher among Jews. The prevalence of obesity and low physical activity in Israel is considerably higher among Arabs than Jews. Smoking prevalence is highest for Arab men and lowest for Arab women. Health inequalities are also evident by the indicators of socioeconomic position and in subpopulations, such as immigrants from the former Soviet Union, ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Bedouin Arabs. Despite universal health coverage and substantial improvements in the overall health of the Israeli population, substantial inequalities in NCDs persist. These differences might be explained, at least in part, by gaps in social determinants of health. The Ministry of Health has developed comprehensive programmes to reduce these inequalities between the major population groups. Sustained coordinated multisectoral efforts are needed to achieve a greater impact and to address other social inequalities.

Reducing health disparities: strategy planning and implementation in Israel's largest health care organization

OBJECTIVE

To describe an organization-wide disparity reduction strategy and to assess its success in quality improvement and reduction of gaps in health and health care.

STUDY SETTING

Clalit Health Services, Israel's largest non-for-profit insurer and provider serving 3.8 million persons.

STUDY DESIGN

Before and after design: quality assessment before and 12-month postinitiation of the strategic plan. A composite weighted score of seven quality indicators, measuring attainment of diabetes, blood pressure, and lipid control, lack of anemia in infants, and performance of mammography, occult blood tests, and influenza vaccinations.

DATA EXTRACTION METHODS

Quality indicator scores, derived from Clalit's central data warehouse, based on data from electronic medical records.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

Low-performing clinics, of low-socioeconomic and minority populations, were targeted for intervention. Twelve months after the initiation of the project continuous improvement was observed coupled with a reduction of 40 percent of the gap between disadvantaged clinics, serving ~10 percent of enrollees, and all other medium-large clinics.

CONCLUSION

The comprehensive strategy, following a quality improvement framework, with a top-down top-management incentives and monitoring, and a bottom-up locally tailored interventions, approach, is showing promising results of overall quality improvement coupled with disparity reduction in key health and health care indicators.

Gender and ethnic disparities in outcome following acute myocardial infarction among Bedouins and Jews in southern Israel

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have documented gender-ethnic disparities in outcomes following acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study evaluates such disparities in the Negev, Israel, and reviews potentially responsible mechanisms.

METHODS

Patients discharged with AMI were classified into young (<70 years), elders (≥70 years) and gender-ethnicity groups: Female Bedouins (FB), Female Jews (FJ), Male Bedouins (MB) and Male Jews (MJ). The primary outcome was 1-year all-cause mortality. Prognosis was assessed using Kaplan-Meier approach. Multivariable analyses assessing hazard ratios (HRs) for mortality were performed using the Cox proportional hazards regression models in two steps controlling for (i) the Ontario Acute Myocardial Infarction Mortality Prediction Rules (OAMIMPRs) and (ii) the OAMIMPR and additional potential confounders.

RESULTS

Of 2669 subjects, 45.8% were elders, 66.2% male and 10.9% Bedouin. The mortality rate was 12.3% (young 4.6%, elders 22%). Survival was significantly lower in FB compared with MB in the elderly stratum (P = 0.025). Multivariate analyses demonstrated similar risks for dying among the young. In the elders, the first multivariate analysis showed greater risk for mortality in FB. Using FB as the reference group, the HRs were as follows: HR((MB)) = 0.36 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14-0.9]; HR((FJ)) = 0.5 (95% CI: 0.27-0.9) and HR((MJ)) = 0.5 (95% CI: 0.28-0.91). In the second analysis, the HRs were as follows: HR((MB)) = 0.37 (95% CI: 0.14-0.93); HR((FJ)) = 0.58 (95% CI: 0.32-1.07) and HR((MJ)) = 0.56 (95% CI: 0.31-1.03).

CONCLUSIONS

Elderly FB have poor 1-year prognosis following AMI compared with MB, MJ and FJ when controlling for the OAMIMPR model, yet when controlling for other potential confounders the differences are of borderline significance in relation to Jewish subjects. A culturally and economically sensitive programme focusing on tertiary prevention in these patients is warranted.

Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and cancer in the occupied Palestinian territory

Heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and cancer are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the occupied Palestinian territory, resulting in a high direct cost of care, high indirect cost in loss of production, and much societal stress. The rates of the classic risk factors for atherosclerotic disease-namely, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, tobacco smoking, and dyslipidaemia-are high and similar to those in neighbouring countries. The urbanisation and continuing nutritional change from a healthy Mediterranean diet to an increasingly western-style diet is associated with reduced activity, obesity, and a loss of the protective effect of the traditional diet. Rates of cancer seem to be lower than those in neighbouring countries, with the leading causes of death being lung cancer in Palestinian men and breast cancer in women. The response of society and the health-care system to this epidemic is inadequate. A large proportion of health-care expenditure is on expensive curative care outside the area. Effective comprehensive prevention programmes should be implemented, and the health-care system should be redesigned to address these diseases.