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Review
. 2016 Nov;16(11):113.
doi: 10.1007/s11892-016-0796-5.

Self-Care Disparities Among Adults with Type 2 Diabetes in the USA

Lindsay Satterwhite Mayberry  1   2 , Erin M Bergner  3   4 , Rosette J Chakkalakal  3   5 , Tom A Elasy  3   5 , Chandra Y Osborn  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Self-Care Disparities Among Adults with Type 2 Diabetes in the USA

Lindsay Satterwhite Mayberry et al. Curr Diab Rep. 2016 Nov.

Abstract

Suboptimal glycemic control is more common among non-Hispanic Blacks (NHBs) and Hispanics than non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). Disparities in the performance of self-care behaviors may contribute to this. To synthesize knowledge on current self-care disparities, we reviewed studies from January 2011-March 2016 that included NHWs, NHBs, and Hispanics with type 2 diabetes in the USA. Self-care behaviors included diet, exercise, medications, self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG), self-foot exams, and not smoking. Of 1241 articles identified in PubMed, 25 met our inclusion criteria. These studies report consistent disparities in medication adherence. Surprisingly, we found consistent evidence of no disparities in exercise and some evidence of reverse disparities: compared to NHWs, Hispanics had healthier diets and NHBs had more regular SMBG. Consistent use of validated measures could further inform disparities in diet and exercise. Additional research is needed to test for disparities in self-foot exams, not smoking, and diabetes-specific problem solving and coping.

Keywords: Adherence; African American; Disparities; Hispanic/Latino; Self-care; Type 2 diabetes.

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Conflict of interest statement

Lindsay Satterwhite Mayberry, Erin Bergner, Rosette Chakkalakal, Tom A. Elasy, and Chandra Y. Osborn declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram depicting the exclusion and inclusion of articles. NHW = non-Hispanic White, NWB = non-Hispanic Black, T2D = type 2 diabetes, U.S. = United States aOther self-care includes: self-foot care, not smoking, diabetes-specific problem solving and coping
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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