Blood glucose control worse in South Asians
Blood glucose levels in South Asian patients with diabetes are more poorly controlled than in white patients, a study of 1,767 patients has found.
The research, published last month in Diabetic Medicine (2006;23:94),
showed that average HbA1c levels for South Asians and white patients
were similar at diagnosis — 7.43 per cent and 7.27 per cent, respectively
(P=0.221). But five years later, average HbA1c levels were higher in
South Asian patients — 8.74 per cent compared with 8.09 per cent
in white patients (P<0.001).
South Asians also showed smaller improvements in blood pressure and cholesterol
levels (P<0.001 and P=0.044) and a smaller proportion were prescribed
angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (P<0.0001) and angiotensin
receptor antagonists and beta-blockers (P=0.041).
Pharmacist Alia Gilani, who runs a medicines review clinic in a mosque,
commented: “Health care services need to be conducted in a culturally
sensitive way as culture has a huge impact on the management of diabetes,
in terms of therapy, concordance and exercise.
“Management of diabetes needs to be tackled aggressively in South
Asian patients and innovative health care services need to be set up
to do
this — we need to take services to patients in community settings
in order to catch those who slip through the net and tackle the at-risk
group of patients.” |
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