Current Diabetes Reports
Volume 15, Issue 8, 2015

Diabetes Among Refugee Populations: What Newly Arriving Refugees Can Learn From Resettled Cambodians (Review)

Wagner J.* , Berthold S.M. , Buckley T. , Kong S. , Kuoch T. , Scully M.
  • a University of Connecticut Health Center, MC3910, 263 Farmington Ave., Farmington, CT 06030, United States
  • b School of Social Work, University of Connecticut, 1798 Asylum Ave., West Hartford, CT 06117, United States
  • c School of Pharmacy, University of Connecticut, 69 North Eagleville Road, U-3092, Storrs, CT 06269-3092, United States
  • d Khmer Health Advocates, 1125 New Britain Ave., Suite 202, West Hartford, CT 06110, United States
  • e Khmer Health Advocates, 1125 New Britain Ave., Suite 202, West Hartford, CT 06110, United States
  • f Khmer Health Advocates, 1125 New Britain Ave., Suite 202, West Hartford, CT 06110, United States

Abstract

A growing body of literature suggests that cardiometabolic disease generally and type 2 diabetes specifically are problems among refugee groups. This paper reviews rates of cardiometabolic disease and type 2 diabetes among refugees and highlights their unique risk factors including history of malnutrition, psychiatric disorders, psychiatric medications, lifestyle changes toward urbanization and industrialization, social isolation, and a poor profile on the social determinants of health. Promising interventions are presented for preventing and treating diabetes in these groups. Such interventions emphasize well-coordinated medical and mental health care delivered by cross-cultural and multidisciplinary teams including community health workers that are well integrated into the community. Finally, recommendations for service, policy, and research are made. The authors draw on local data and clinical experience of our collective work with Cambodian American refugees whose 30-year trajectory illustrates the consequences of ignoring diabetes and its risk factors in more recent, and soon to be arriving, refugee cohorts. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Author Keywords

Cambodian Obesity Post-traumatic stress Depression overweight diabetes Refugee

Index Keywords

depression refugee Cambodian non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus human social isolation Refugees industrialization Asian continental ancestry group metabolic disorder diabetes mellitus social determinants of health policy health auxiliary Urbanization mental health care mental disease Humans Stress, Physiological risk factor Risk Factors Review heart disease lifestyle modification medical history research malnutrition transcultural care physiological stress medical care practice guideline Learning health care delivery
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84937895151&doi=10.1007%2fs11892-015-0618-1&partnerID=40&md5=af432202c8ebf3521f59560336f254df
DOI: 10.1007/s11892-015-0618-1
ISSN: 15344827
Cited by: 8
Original Language: English