Black Women's Recommendations for Developing Effective Type 2 Diabetes Programming

Stigma, Self-Care, and Intuitive Eating in Black Americans with Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is prevalent among Black Americans. Stigma associated with type 2 diabetes, both in general and specific to weight, is damaging to self-care, which is crucial for the effective management of diabetes. Family relationships may buffer the negative impact of stress, especially among Black Americans who have historically relied on informal support networks. Our goal was to investigate how type 2 diabetes stigma (H1) and weight stigma (H2) were related to self-care and intuitive eating - a non-restrictive approach to nutrition; H3 predicted that family relationship satisfaction would moderate the relationships predicted in H1 and H2. Black Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes (N = 225) were recruited via Qualtrics panels to complete an online survey of self-report measures. We used multiple linear regression to test our hypotheses. Both chronic illness and weight stigma were related as predicted to one subscale of intuitive eating (eating for physical hunger). Our moderation analyses revealed that family relationship satisfaction was protective against the harms of stigma at moderate to high levels. Intuitive eating is a promising non-restrictive treatment option for type 2 diabetes.

Adverse childhood events and risk of diabetes onset in the 1979 National longitudinal survey of youth cohort

Background

Type 2 diabetes is a major public health problem with considerable personal and societal costs. Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are associated with a number of serious and chronic health problems in adulthood, but these experiences have not been adequately studied in relation to diabetes in a US national sample. The association between ACE and poor health can be partially explained by greater risky health behaviors (RHB) such as smoking, heavy alcohol use, or obesity. Few studies have examined ACE in relation to adult onset Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) taking into account the role of RHB. Using longitudinal data from a representative US population sample followed over 30 years, this study examines the impact of ACE on the risk of diabetes onset.

Methods

Data from the 1982 to 2012 waves of the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were analyzed, spanning ages 14 to 56. Bivariate and discrete-time survival models were used to assess the relationships between ACE and RHB including smoking, alcohol use, and obesity, and subsequent onset of diabetes.

Results

T2DM was reported by almost 10% of participants. Over 30% of women and 21% of men reported 2+ ACE events. Women reporting 2–3 or 4+ ACE events were more likely to develop diabetes with the mean number of ACE events being greater in those with diabetes compared to without (1.28 vs.1.05, p < .0001). For men there was no significant association between ACE and diabetes onset. For women, ACE was associated with heavy drinking, current smoking, and obesity. For men, ACE was associated with being underweight and daily smoking. In multivariate discrete-time survival models, each additional ACE increased risk of T2DM onset (OR_adj = 1.14; 95% CI 1.02–1.26) for women but not for men. The relationship in women was attenuated when controlling for body mass index (BMI).

Conclusion

ACE predicted diabetes onset among women, though this relationship was attenuated when controlling for BMI. Being overweight or obese was significantly more common among women with a history of ACE, which suggests BMI may be on the pathway from ACE to diabetes onset for women.

Perceptions of Heart-Healthy Behaviors among African American Adults: A Mixed Methods Study

African Americans have a disproportionately higher risk of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes, and hypertension than other ethnic or racial groups. Data regarding CVD-related perceptions and beliefs among African Americans are limited, particularly in the Southwest US. Assessment of current views regarding health and health behaviors is needed to tailor interventions to meet the unique needs of specific populations. We sought to examine knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of African Americans living in Arizona toward CVD and etiological factors associated with health behaviors and chronic disease development to inform state health agency program development. Transcripts from 14 focus groups (n = 103) were analyzed using Grounded Theory for perceived disease risk, knowledge of CVD risk factors, nutrition, preventative behaviors, and barriers and motivators to behavior change. Participants identified CVD, stroke, and diabetes as leading health concerns among African-Americans but were less certain about the physiological consequences of these diseases. Diet, stress, low physical activity, family history, hypertension, and stroke were described as key CVD risk factors, but overweight and obesity were mentioned rarely. Participants described low socio-economic status and limited access to healthy foods as contributors to disease risk. Focus group members were open to modifying health behaviors if changes incorporated their input and were culturally acceptable. Respondents were 41% male and 59% female with a mean age of 46 years. This study provides insight into CVD and associated disease-related perceptions, knowledge, and attitudes among African Americans in the Southwest and recommendations for interventions to reduce CVD risk.