New York City Diabetes Rate Higher Than National Average, Asians Have Highest Rates Among All Residents, Study Finds
More than 700,000 New York City residents, or 12.5% of all residents, have diabetes, with Asians having the highest rate at nearly 16%, according to a study released Tuesday by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York Times reports (Perez-Pena, New York Times, 1/31). The findings are based on the city's Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. For the study, doctors collected individual diagnostic tests from households in all of the city's boroughs (Moreno Gonzales, Long Island Newsday, 1/31). Previously, data were collected through telephone interviews, but the door-to-door testing provided more accurate data and a baseline for measuring changes, officials said. Doctors used a representative sample of the city's population from 2004, surveying more than 2,000 people from every borough. The study found that Asian Americans in New York City -- those from South Asia in particular -- have the highest rate of diabetes and that more than half of residents whose families are from South Asia either have diabetes or prediabetes. According to the study, 32% of all Asians in the city are prediabetic. About 14% of blacks, 12% of Hispanics and 11% of whites have diabetes. Overall, the study found that the city's diabetes rate was higher than the national average of 10.3%. The city is compiling a registry of individuals with diabetes to track their control of the disease, identify the most effective strategies and determine the performance of individual doctors and clinics in treating diabetes. Thomas Frieden, city health commissioner, said the study "confirms that we as a society are doing a rotten job both preventing and controlling diabetes" (New York Times, 1/31).
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