Diabetes

You can get diabetes if your body does not use insulin right. Insulin is what is in your body that changes the sugars in food into energy. Diabetes, including gestational diabetes that occurs during pregnancy, is more common in Hispanic American/Latinos than in Whites. Mexican Americans, the largest Hispanic/Latino subgroup, are 2 times more likely to have diabetes than Whites. Also, residents of Puerto Rico are 2 times more likely to have diagnosed diabetes than U.S. Whites. Within the Hispanic American/Latino population, diabetes is more prevalent in women than it is in men.

Type 1 diabetes happens when your body destroys its own cells that make insulin. Type 2 diabetes occurs when the pancreas doesn't make enough insulin. A growing number of children are getting type 2 diabetes. Children have a greater chance of getting type 2 diabetes if they are overweight or if a family member has it.

Although type 1 diabetes cannot be prevented, there are steps you can take to prevent type 2 diabetes: control your weight and be active. People with diabetes have a higher chance of having problems with their skin, mouth, kidneys, heart, nerves, eyes, and feet. Hispanic Americans/Latinos have a 2 times higher rate of retinopathy (eye disease) and kidney disease (including end-stage kidney failure). And Hispanic American/Latina women with diabetes are 7.6 times more likely to develop peripheral vascular disease (problems with blood flow in the veins) than non-diabetic women, and three-to-four times more likely to have heart disease or a stroke. These problems can be prevented:

• See your health care providers regularly. Don't forget about the dentist and eye doctor!
• Don't smoke.
• Control your blood sugar and cholesterol levels, your blood pressure, and your weight.
• Exercise (30 minutes most days of the week is best).
• Check your feet everyday for blisters, red spots, swelling, or cuts.
• Stay aware of how you feel-if you notice a problem, call your health care provider right away.

About 2 to 5% of all pregnant women develop gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy). Mexican American women, especially when they are overweight, have higher rates of gestational diabetes than non-Hispanic White women. Gestational diabetes increases the baby's risk for problems such as macrosomia (large body size) and neonatal hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Although women's blood glucose levels generally return to normal after childbirth, an increased risk of getting gestational diabetes in future pregnancies remains. Also, studies show that many women with gestational diabetes will develop type 2 diabetes later in life. Experts estimate that about half of all women with gestational diabetes develop type 2 diabetes within 20 years of the pregnancy. For Mexican American women, this may be a risk as much as 12% per year.