What Should Arab Americans Worry About When it Comes to Health
By: Mohamed Nada/ Arab America Contributing Writer
A fun question to ask is what is the average age of the life of an Arab American now? You’re right, it’s 69, comparing it to the U.S. in general which is 79 . That is a significant difference,10 years apart. The serious question is: What’s the reason for such difference?
According to the study by the American Diabetes Association (ADA):
“Participants were randomly selected adult Arab Americans, 20–75 years of age, from randomly selected households in Dearborn, Michigan. Demographic and anthropometric data were recorded. Glucose tolerance was assessed with 2-h 75-g oral glucose tolerance tests and classified according to 1997 American Diabetes Association and 1998 World Health Organization criteria.”
ADA goes even further to mention:
“The prevalence of diabetes and glucose intolerance is extremely high among adult Arab Americans in Michigan and represents a major clinical and public health problem. Community-based intervention programs to prevent and treat diabetes are urgently needed.”
This is a problem that most Arab Americans face. What can factor in for people who have diabetes?
- family genetics
- types of food eaten
- high blood sugar
Other items that also may factor is smoking; it can be a huge factor for diabetes and may cause severe problems for the smoker according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
“We now know that smoking causes type 2 diabetes. In fact, smokers are 30–40% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than nonsmokers. And people with diabetes who smoke are more likely than nonsmokers to have trouble with insulin dosing and with controlling their disease.3 The more cigarettes you smoke, the higher your risk for type 2 diabetes.3“
With that in mind, smoking while having diabetes can cause some serious symptoms. Here is more on what the CDC lists on the effects:
- Heart and kidney disease
- Poor blood flow in the legs and feet that can lead to infections, ulcers, and possible amputation (removal of a body part by surgery, such as toes or feet)
- Retinopathy (an eye disease that can cause blindness)
- Peripheral neuropathy (damaged nerves to the arms and legs that causes numbness, pain, weakness, and poor coordination)
Smoking, Hookah Same Thing…Right?
Most people know that hookahs are 10x worse than smoking a cigarette, in fact, 30 minutes of hookah equals one hour of smoking 100 cigarettes.
Source: Verywell Health
Hookahs are designed for people to sit around for hours, have a good time, and make them smoke flavored tobacco ignoring the warning that they just have smoked like more than 100 cigarettes. It is an alarming issue that many Arab Americans have to face on a regular base; they must be reminded that smoking hookahs every day will shorten their life expectancy.
Especially those who are diabetic, Anika Slachta states that (Cardiovascular Business), “Smoking hookah could raise users’ risk of developing diabetes or becoming obese, the Telegraph has reported of a study out of Brighton and Sussex Medical School.”
Slachta goes on to say:
“The work, which studied 6,742 nonsmokers, 976 ex-smokers, 864 cigarette smokers and 1,067 hookah smokers, linked smoking hookah to greater rates of obesity, metabolic syndrome and dyslipidemia—all conditions negatively associated with cigarette smoking. According to the Telegraph, it’s the largest study of its kind to date.”
Smoking is already not good for anyone’s health, but when Arab Americans pair it up with diabetes, the combination of it can cause serious medical issues that can impact later one’s life. So before any Arab American pick up a hookah, he/she must remember that it can lead to worse causes than when started, and can seriously affect those who are diabetic.