Jul 10
2
Government Renewal Program for American Indian Type 2 Diabetics
Backers Urge Renewal of Program That Fights Diabetes Among American Indians
www.argusleader.com
Elizabeth Bewley-Gannett Washington Bureau-July 1, 2010
WASHINGTON – A government program aimed at curbing the disproportionately high rate of Diabetes among American Indians has one year left and supporters are urging its renewal.
“The rate of those suffering from Diabetes is alarming, and we need to continue to build on our efforts to combat it,” said Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D. “We made some strides in improving health in Indian Country earlier this year with the passage of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act as part of comprehensive health care reform, but there is still a lot of work to do.”
Sixteen-year-old Caitlin Baker, a Muscogee Creek tribe member from Norman, Okla., is one of the lucky ones in her community – she doesn’t have the disease.
Caitlin, who founded a Diabetes prevention program for American Indian children when she was 12 years old, says that Diabetes is so common among American Indians that her peers think developing the disease is simply a part of life.
“They sometimes tell me that Type 2 Diabetes is inevitable,” she told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee at Wednesday’s hearing on Diabetes in Indian Country.
Medical experts, activists and legislators at the hearing discussed the rising prevalence of Diabetes among American Indians and the effectiveness of government intervention. The government’s Special Diabetes Program for Indians has funded treatment and prevention efforts since 1997, but the program is set to expire in 2011.
Doctors and activists at the hearing urged senators not to let that happen.
Over the past 20 years, Diabetes among American Indians has soared. In 2005, more than 16 percent of American Indian adults had the disease, compared to 6 percent of white adults.
Perhaps most alarming is the soaring number of children with the disease. Since 1990, the number of American Indians under the age of 15 with Type 2 Diabetes has jumped 160 percent. Experts link this increase to rising obesity rates among Indian children, who are more obese than other youths.
But activists say government funding has helped.
Average blood sugar levels among Diabetics in communities receiving federal funding have dropped 11 percent since the Diabetes program was founded, and cholesterol levels have fallen 16 percent, according to the Indian Health Service. Lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels reduce the risk of Diabetes-related complications, such as kidney failure, amputations or heart attack.