New research identifies Houston's vulnerability to diabetes; highlights public health crisis

HOUSTON, June 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Research sponsored by Novo Nordisk and conducted in collaboration with the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health identified three kinds of vulnerability to diabetes across communities and specified 14 social and cultural factors that reinforce them. The research was presented at a Cities Changing Diabetes – Houston Town Hall event held today at City Hall. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner kicked off the program and gave his support to the initiative.

Across vulnerable populations, the key social and cultural factors include the perception of change and transition (77.6%), the feeling of being financially constrained (44.8%), the adherence to nourishing traditions (42.4%), the use of cars for long commutes (41.6%) and the experience of time poverty (40%).

The research findings are based on extensive, prior data analyses and in-depth interviews with 125 Houston households, as part of Cities Changing Diabetes, a global program of Novo Nordisk in which seven cities around the world are learning how to improve diabetes detection and care in their communities. Houston is the only American city participating.

"Vulnerability to diabetes is prevalent in neighborhoods throughout Houston," says Stephen Linder, Ph.D., Director of the Institute for Health Policy, UTHealth School of Public Health and lead researcher with Cities Changing Diabetes in Houston. "By being able to understand the social and cultural factors behind it, we can develop targeted prevention methods."

During the event, the Cities Changing Diabetes – Houston coalition announced a challenge grant of $100,000 ($50,000 in funds and $50,000 in technical assistance and support) to jump start the virtual Houston Diabetes Resource Center (HDRC). HDRC will serve as a "one-stop shop" website for consumers, providers and employers and house important resources for diabetes prevention, detection and care. Gateway to Care is going to administer the funds; the grant is provided by Novo Nordisk.

In addition to the HDRC, concepts the coalition developed and presented are:

• Walk It Out Houston: A collaboration with Super Neighborhoods across Houston to decrease prediabetes and diabetes through physical activity, nutrition education and community engagement
• Promoting Quality Among Providers: A working collaboration to promote the implementation of a diabetes care recognition program designed to spread best practices in Houston that promote consistent and cost-effective care for people with diabetes and at risk for diabetes across not-for-profit clinics and physician practices
• MEND (Mind Exercise Nutrition Do It!): Implementation of the MEND program which is one of the world's largest evidence-based healthy lifestyle programs that empowers 7-13 year olds by helping families change unhealthy attitudes about food and activity
• Faith and Diabetes: Promotion of evidence practices for diabetes prevention and management in faith-based environments

"Diabetes affects all Houstonians - our families, our communities, our schools, our workplaces, our places of worship and ultimately our economy," says Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner. "It is an epidemic that has enormous financial and human costs. As leaders who care about Houston, we owe it to our community to do all that we can to help them prevent it." 

"Traditional methods for promoting the prevention and detection of diabetes have gotten us far, but we can no longer solely rely on these to have an impact on this serious disease," said Faith E. Foreman, Dr. P.H., MPH, LVN, Assistant Director, Houston Health Department. "We appreciate Novo Nordisk stepping forward to provide the initial funding and look forward to other community partners accepting the challenge."

The Cities Changing Diabetes program launched in Houston in November 2014 with comprehensive analysis of the major gaps and vulnerabilities associated with diabetes. Soon after it launched, the program invested more than a year researching the diabetes epidemic in Houston. A community-wide assessment identified the populations most at risk for developing the disease and compared them to Houstonians already diagnosed with diabetes.

This work, and 11 round tables conducted with a wide range of community stakeholders, led to the formation of five Action Work Groups with representatives from approximately 60 faith-based organizations, government, health insurance companies, medical providers, employers and non-profit entities that proposed a number of initiatives for addressing the diabetes epidemic locally.

Diabetes in Houston
Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States. There are 2.1 million people living in Houston and 4.3 million in Harris County¹. Approximately one in 10 adults in Houston/Harris County have diabetes².

Obesity is the most common chronic condition in Houston, affecting 32 percent of adults². Obese men and obese women have a 7- and 12-fold risk, respectively, of developing diabetes³.  

About Urban Diabetes and Cities Changing Diabetes
Of the estimated 415 million people worldwide who have diabetes, nearly two-thirds live in urban areas⁴. By 2040, the number of people with diabetes is expected to rise to 642 million, with 74% of them living in urban areas⁴.   

Cities Changing Diabetes is a first-of-its-kind collaboration developed to stem the tide of urban diabetes by providing practical, long-term solutions. The partnership aims to tackle the challenge by first understanding the driving factors behind the rise in diabetes in cities and use that knowledge to share concrete, real-world solutions.

The aim of Cities Changing Diabetes is to map the problem, share solutions and drive concrete action to fight the diabetes challenge in selected focus cities across the world.

The Houston Health Department and UTHealth School of Public Health serve as core partners on the project and lead the research for Cities Changing Diabetes – Houston in collaboration with Novo Nordisk. Other local partners include the American Diabetes Association Houston, Clinton Foundation Health Matters Initiative, Houston Business Coalition on Health, City of Houston HR Department, Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services, Gateway to Care, The Fountain of Praise and Harris County Medical Society. Globally, the program is supported by University College London (UCL) and Steno Diabetes Center, Denmark, a world-leading institution in diabetes care and prevention, and Novo Nordisk.  

About Novo Nordisk
Headquartered in Denmark, Novo Nordisk is a global healthcare company with more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care. The company also has leading positions within hemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy. For more information, visit novonordisk.us or follow our news in the U.S. on Twitter: @novonordiskus.

About UTHealth 
Established in 1972 by The University of Texas System Board of Regents, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) is Houston's Health University and Texas' resource for health care education, innovation, scientific discovery and excellence in patient care. The most comprehensive academic health center in The UT System and the U.S. Gulf Coast region, UTHealth is home to schools of biomedical informatics, biomedical sciences, dentistry, medicine, nursing and public health and includes The University of Texas Harris County Psychiatric Center and a growing network of clinics throughout the region. The university's primary teaching hospitals include Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital and Harris Health Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. For more information, visit www.uth.edu.

References:
1. The State of Health in Houston/Harris County 2012. Harris County Healthcare Alliance, Houston, Texas.  
2. Health of Houston Survey. HHS 2010 A First Look. Houston, TX: Institute for Health Policy, The University of Texas School of Public Health, 2011.
3. Guh DP et al. The incidence of comorbidities related to obesity and overweight. BMC Pub Health. 2009; 9:88.  
4. IDF. International Diabetes Federation, 2015. IDF Diabetes Atlas. 7th edn. Brussels, Belgium: International Diabetes Federation.

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