AMERICANS ARE SICK
Americans are not only the fattest people on the planet, but they also are the sickest! This is not only my opinion, it is the opinion of the authors of a study entitled:
Almost Half of US Adults Have Diabetes, Hypertension, or Hypercholesterolemia.
It was published by the prestigious Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here is the entire report with my translations for those who cannot read medical jargon, written by Michael O’Riordan:
Hyattsville, Maryland – Nearly half of all adults in the US have one chronic condition associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
The report, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, showed that 45% of individuals 20 years of age and older have hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, or diabetes.
Of these, 3% of adults had all three conditions and 13% had two conditions. Hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were present in 9% of adults, and 3% of adults had high blood pressure and diabetes.
“These findings indicate that a high percentage of the population have a condition associated with heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States,” according to Cheryl Fryar (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, MD) and colleagues in an April 2010 data brief from the National Center for Health Statistics.
AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAVE MORE CONDITIONS
The prevalence of diagnosed or undiagnosed high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, or diabetes varied by ethnicity, with non-Hispanic black individuals more likely than non-Hispanic white and Mexican American individuals to have at least one of these three conditions.
WHITES GENERALLY HAVE ONLY ONE CONDITION AND BLACKS TWO CONDITIONS
Compared with Mexican Americans, non-Hispanic white individuals were more likely to have only one of these chronic conditions, while non-Hispanic black people were more likely than white individuals and Mexican American individuals, 16.4% vs 12.8% and 12.7%, respectively, to have two comorbid conditions. In total, 4.6% of non-Hispanic black people have hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes.
WE NEED MORE RESEARCH
These results emphasize the need for research to identify the reasons for the race/ethnicity differences and to identify factors that could be modified to mitigate the race/ethnicity differences,” according to the researchers.
MANY PEOPLE ARE UNDIAGNOSED
The data also showed that approximately 8% of adults have undiagnosed hypertension, 3% have undiagnosed diabetes, and another 8% have undiagnosed hypercholesterolemia. In more than 15% of all US adults, one or more of these conditions is undiagnosed. The proportion of undiagnosed hypertension, elevated cholesterol levels, and diabetes was similar across racial/ethnic groups.
Dr. Pinna says:
We definitely need more accurate and complete diagnoses of all our citizens. Many people do not go to doctors for numerous reasons, most of which are cultural.
Our schools are more interested in teaching how and why you should sue doctors than in why you should go and see them.
Our political system supports ignorance and not information.
Until all people realize that their health is more important than their video games and basketball scores, we wont have a healthy nation.
