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Blacks Have Poorer Control of Diabetes Than Whites
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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 Those with diabetes should aim for an A1C of less than 7 percent, according to the American Diabetes Association.
In the study, blacks had an A1C, on average, that was 0.65 percent higher than that of whites, Bell said.
While no averages were calculated by the researchers by race, "the range of A1C values across the 11 studies was 7.3 percent to 9.4 percent for whites and 7.6 percent to 11.4 percent for blacks," he said. "As you can see, there are a lot of people whose A1C is not in good control, but especially so for blacks."
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A numbers of reasons may explain the differences, the researchers said, including differences in quality of care, intensity of treatment, or in insurance coverage, such as prescription drug coverage. Genetic differences may explain the gap, too.
"The individual person with diabetes has to say to him or herself that diabetes control is critical to long-term health," Deeb said. A person with diabetes should vow to work with their doctor to bring the test result into normal range, he added.
About 20 million American children and adults have diabetes, according to American Diabetes Association estimates.
Other researchers involved in the study were from Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.
More information
To learn more about the A1C test, visit the American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org ).
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Copyright © 2006 ScoutNews LLC. All rights reserved.
Last updated 8/25/2006
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SOURCES: Ronny A. Bell, Ph.D., associate professor, epidemiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Larry C. Deeb, M.D., president, medicine and science, American Diabetes Association, and professor, social and behavioral medicine, Florida State University College of Medicine, Tallahassee; Aug. 25, 2006, online issue, Diabetes Care
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