Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved

Brieger, Katherine M.
A Dietician's Perspective on Diabetes among Migrant Farmworkers
Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved - Volume 17, Number 3, August 2006, pp. 469-476

The Johns Hopkins University Press

Katherine M. Brieger - A Dietician's Perspective on Diabetes among Migrant Farmworkers - Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 17:3 Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 17.3 (2006) 469-476 Muse Search Journals This Journal Contents A Dietician's Perspective on Diabetes among Migrant Farmworkers Katherine Brieger, MA, RD, CDE Hudson River HealthCare Background The 6th leading cause of death in the United States is diabetes. The number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes has more than doubled in the last twenty years. In 1980, the rates were 5.8 million people living with diabetes; in 2004, the number was 14.7 million. Adding to this number are the more than 5 million people who are thought to have undiagnosed diabetes.1 A recent article in the New York Times highlighting the epidemic of diabetes, especially childhood diabetes, is one of many in the mass media recently that are raising public awareness of the issue.2 The morbidity associated with diabetes includes heart disease, stroke, amputation, renal disease, and blindness. People with diabetes have twice the mortality rate of those without the disease of similar ages.1 The financial burden of diabetes is estimated to be $132 billion annually.3 Disease management regimens prove effective for many individuals with diabetes. However, both efficacy and adherence to evidence-based regimens complicate matters. Furthermore, diabetes and one of its most significant risk factors...