Implementing equity-focused strategies targeted at racial and ethnic minority groups disproportionately burdened by diabetes and obesity are critical to preventing and managing these conditions and decreasing risks of cardiovascular disease and adverse clinical outcomes, according to a review paper published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology as part of nine-part Focused Seminar series on race and health equity.

According to Prakash C. Deedwania, MD, FACC, et al., obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus are highly prevalent and increasing in the U.S. among racial/ethnic minority groups including African American, Hispanic/LatinX American and Asian American populations. The note that "pervasive disparities exist at every level from risk factors through outcomes." For example, they highlight documented disparities in hemoglobin A1c control, lower prescription rates of newer hyperglycemic medications along with greater rates of complications post-bariatric surgery.

The paper outlines several best-practices to address cardiometabolic disparities within clinical guidelines as well as provides recommendations for cross-cutting strategies to advance health equity within these patient populations. Specifically, Deedwania, et al., stress the importance of addressing social needs and social determinants of health in future guidelines and underscore the importance of providing culturally tailored and linguistically appropriate care. The use of community health care works "as bridges between their ethnic, cultural, or geographic communities and health care providers" is also encouraged, as are "aggressive measures to enhance participation of underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups" in all aspects of clinical trials.

"Currently, building trust with patients, effective communication, diversity in medicine and science and patient-centered guideline-based care are cornerstones of improving diabetes and obesity care," the authors write. "Many opportunities exist to improve obesity and diabetes treatment and care for U.S. racial/ethnic minorities by keeping equity as our North Star," they add.

Clinical Topics: Arrhythmias and Clinical EP, Cardiovascular Care Team, COVID-19 Hub, Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathies, Noninvasive Imaging, Prevention, Valvular Heart Disease, Atherosclerotic Disease (CAD/PAD), Implantable Devices, SCD/Ventricular Arrhythmias, Atrial Fibrillation/Supraventricular Arrhythmias, Acute Heart Failure, Echocardiography/Ultrasound, Hypertension, Sleep Apnea

Keywords: Cardiology, Prejudice, Racism, Selection Bias, African Americans, Algorithms, Asian Americans, Atrial Fibrillation, Bariatric Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Dilated, Benchmarking, Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Cardiovascular Diseases, Community Health Services, Coronary Artery Disease, COVID-19, Cultural Competency, Death, Sudden, Cardiac, Defibrillators, Implantable, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Dementia, Echocardiography, Economic Status, Sexual and Gender Minorities, Ethnic Groups, Evidence-Based Medicine, Food Insecurity, Glycated Hemoglobin A, Health Care Costs, Health Equity, Health Personnel, Healthcare Disparities, Heart Disease Risk Factors, Heart Valve Diseases, Hospitals, Hispanic Americans, Heart Failure, Housing, Hypertension, Implementation Science, Insurance, Insurance Coverage, Minority Groups, Motivation, Morbidity, Obesity, Organizational Objectives, Outcome Assessment, Health Care, Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest, Patient Discharge, Patient-Centered Care, Peripheral Arterial Disease, Prescriptions, Policy, Prevalence, Public Health, Quality Improvement, Reference Standards, Registries, Religion, Renal Insufficiency, Chronic, Reward, Risk Factors, Social Determinants of Health, Social Justice, Social Responsibility, Stroke, Survival Rate, Telemedicine, Telemedicine, Treatment Outcome, Trust, Violence, Violence, Workforce

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