Hispanic Heritage Month and type 2 diabetes impact on Hispanic/Latinx people

During National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 – Oct. 15), University of Chicago Medicine primary care physician Dr. Arshiya Baig is available to discuss the disproportionate impact of type 2 diabetes on Hispanic/Latinx communities in the United States.

More than half of Hispanic/Latinx adults in the U.S. are expected to develop type 2 diabetes in their lifetime (compared to 40% of the overall U.S. population), and Hispanic/Latinx people have a higher risk of diabetes complications, such as kidney failure and diabetes-related vision loss and blindness. Many Hispanic/Latinx people face communication and cultural barriers in healthcare, which can make preventing and managing type 2 diabetes more challenging.

Dr. Baig, the Associate Director of the Chicago Center for Diabetes Translation Research, can speak about the increased diabetes risk Hispanic/Latinx people face, culturally specific advice for patients and families, and her research on the use of community-based interventions to improve Latinx diabetes disparities. Dr. Baig has worked on community-based participatory research projects to improve healthcare delivery to Latinx communities in partnership with faith-based organizations in Los Angeles and Chicago. She most recently led research on diabetes group visits to improve care among patients who received care in community health centers in Chicago and across the Midwest.