Prevalence and Predictors of Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertension in Armenian Americans in Los Angeles.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HTN) along with associated risk factors among Armenian Americans living in Los Angeles. Methods After Institutional Review Board approval, a sample of 877 Armenian Americans was collected for 5 consecutive years (2011-2015) at a health fair. Collected data included: sociodemographic variables; cardiometabolic data, including systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, glucose (Glu), and lipids; anthropometric data, including height (Ht), weight (Wt), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and hip circumference (HC). Retrospective descriptive correlation, test of significance, and logistic regression analyses were performed. Results Findings showed that about 50% of the participants had abnormal waist/hip ratio and approximately one-quarter of the subjects had glucose levels that were indicative of high risk for DM. Logistic regression analysis revealed that high SBP ( P = .04), above normal WC ( P = .03), and high triglycerides ( P = .04) were significant in predicting DM. Moreover, age ( P =.0001), family history of cardiovascular disease ( P= .01), and above normal WC ( P = .04) were found to be significant predictors of HTN. Conclusion Waist circumference indicated to be a strong predictor for DM and HTN. Early detection and timely interventions are important to prevent DM and HTN and their associated complications. For an underserved population, health fairs become one effective avenue for screening, referral, and evaluation.

The impact of diabetes self-management education on glucose management and empowerment in ethnic Armenians with type 2 diabetes.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of diabetes self-management education on glycemic control and perceptions of empowerment in Armenian American immigrants diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: A quasi-experimental pre and post design was used to investigate the impact of using education on self-management as measured by A1C levels and empowerment scores. Nine hours of diabetes self-management education classes were offered in the Armenian language to 75 clients at 2 adult health day care centers over 6 weeks. The participants were mostly first-generation Armenian immigrants aged 65 years and older. A1C results, the 8-item Diabetes Empowerment Scale (DES), and the 15-item Armenian Ethnic Orientation Questionnaire-Revised (AEOQ-R) were used to determine the impact of education on self-care management. RESULTS: After institutional review board approval was obtained, 75 participants completed the study. A paired t test indicated that the postintervention mean A1C level was significantly lower than the preintervention mean A1C level. The postintervention mean DES score was significantly greater than the preintervention mean DES score. No mediating effects of age, gender, acculturation, and number of years with the disease were identified for either A1C or DES score. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate the efficacy of the diabetes self-management education classes in improving diabetes self-care management skills.