Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is the third most common pediatric chronic disease in the United States, and the risk of the disease has risen sharply in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) children in the last 20 years, data show. Ironically, the significant advances in T1D therapeutics over recent years, especially new technologies, may have exacerbated racial disparities in diabetes treatment and outcomes.
In an article in the journal Pediatric Diabetes, researchers from the School of Nursing and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia detail their retrospective study of more than 2,800 children with T1D. Their findings have helped quantify racial and ethnic disparities in health care use, technology application, and outcomes in pediatric diabetes treatment.
“Disparities in these treatments are of clinical significance, as both intensive insulin therapy and the incorporation of technology have been associated with improved glycemic control and, consequently, reduced long-term complications,” writes Terri H. Lipman, Miriam Stirl Endowed Term Professor of Nutrition, professor of nursing of children and assistant dean for community engagement at Penn Nursing.
Read more at Penn Nursing News.
