Diabetes

Studies show that diabetes is a major health concern among Arab Americans. The prevalence of diabetes among the Arab American population is estimated to range from 4.8-23% with a prevalence of 10% undiagnosed diabetes (Abuelezam, 2018). Research on this specific population has found that Vitamin D insufficiency and hypovitaminosis D is very common among the Arab American population which can be linked to glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and affect a component of metabolic syndrome in men (Pinelli, 2010).

In a number of studies conducted it has been found that there is a lack of diabetes education among Arab American communities with the main barriers to treatment being cost of care, and lack of health insurance (Linda, 2003). It is likely that cultural and linguistic shortcomings in the current educational material make it more difficult for this population to fully understand risk and their ability to better their overall health. In addition to cultural and linguistic barriers in existing educational material, it has been found that cultural traditions such as sharing of food, gender roles, and religious beliefs have all hindered Arab American self-education on diabetes.

Interventions need to be cost-effective and need to address Arab American culture, attitudes, religious beliefs, and lifestyle preferences in order to be beneficial to the community.