Doctors Investigate Why More Latinos Are Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes

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Latinos are almost twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes than non-Latino whites, and researchers want to know exactly why.

According to a recent article, rising rates of diabetes are occuring in the Latino youth population. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention predicts if these trends go unchecked one out of every two Latino children born in the year 2000 will have diabetes.

Dr. Esteban Gonzalez Burchard, an associate professor at UC San Francisco, studies why certain ethinc populations are affected by certain diseases, and specifically why some Mexican Americans may be linked to something called the “founder effect.”

Buchard studies genetic factors that may have been passed on through generations but ultimately thinks that the strongest predictor of health outcomes is socioeconomics.

Diabetes cost the U.S. more than $174 billion dollars in 2007. To read more about this article and Latino health risks, click here.