June 11, 1999
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) - U.S. and Mexican health experts are launching an ambitious project to assess and address the growing prevalence of diabetes along the border.
Dr. David Espey, an epidemiologist with the New Mexico Department of Health, told a U.S.-Mexico Border Health Association meeting in San Antonio on Thursday (June 3) there isn't sufficient data to measure the problem.
``Right now, it really looks like there is a much higher diabetes burden on the border,'' Espey said. ``But we need a more complete picture about conditions on both sides.''
The binational project will entail door-to-door contacts with nearly 3,000 border residents in six Mexican states and four U.S. states, the San Antonio Express-News reported.
Health officials plan to interview 350 residents in each of the four U.S. border states and 250 residents in each of the six Mexican states. The survey will begin in about six months.
The Texas Department of Health has committed $60,000 to fund the initial stages of the project. Several other funding sources from both sides of the border are expected, Espey said.
One reason the study is needed is there is no uniform sampling method used by both Mexican and American researchers, Espey said.
The new initiative, called the Collaborative U.S.-Mexican Diabetes Prevention and Control Project, will attempt to gather comparative data from both countries, he said.
Existing statistics indicate Mexican border states have experienced a dramatic rise in recent years in the mortality rates associated with diabetes, with the increases ranging from 5 percent to 13 percent.
The U.S. side of the border also is struggling with the disease. In the lower Rio Grande Valley the prevalence of diabetes is about three times the national average, researchers said.
A comprehensive diabetes prevention education campaign tailored to border region residents also is planned.
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