Poor health is not only an effect of poverty, but one of its root causes. This is particularly true for Central America’s second-poorest country, Honduras, where 62.8 percent of the population lives in poverty.
Without access to affordable health care, a lack of clean water and sanitation methods and a shortage of health centers, Honduras’ poor are most susceptible to becoming ill.
But what are the top diseases in Honduras?
Diabetes.
Diabetes is the second-leading cause of death amongst Hondurans and occurs when a person’s pancreas fails to make enough insulin or does not use insulin correctly. As a result, people who suffer from diabetes often experience an increase in exhaustion, hunger, thirst, urination and weight loss.
For the 3.6 million Hondurans who live in rural areas, diabetes is a severe problem. While it is an arguably treatable disease in first-world countries, diabetes can be fatal for those who do not live near clinics with adequate testing methods or for those who do not live near clinics at all. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reveals that in Latin America, diabetes is rarely diagnosed early and is
Cerebrovascular disease causes 6.1 percent of mortalities in Honduras and refers to any condition that restricts blood flow to the brain, such as stroke, embolism or aneurysm. Ischemia includes coronary heart or artery diseases that usually result in heart attack.
Those who smoke, have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol or are obese are at higher risk of developing a cerebrovascular or ischemic disorder. This is especially concerning for Honduras, where the World Bank reports seeing a rise in overweight individuals eating high-fat diets with decreased levels of physical activity.
Lower respiratory diseases and influenza.
According to an NIH study, respiratory illnesses, such as pneumonia, are the primary cause of death among children five-years-old or younger living in rural
"Stories - Peru Journal - Part 2: Diseases of the Poor — International Reporting Project.”
It was to this respect that, the search could detect ‘’hypertension’’ as the leading risk factor for heart disease. And this preceded three quarters of heart failures cases as compared to coronary artery disease, which led to most heart failures in less than 40% of the cases. Also, an increase in left ventricular end-diastolic diameter became a mirror to the Framingham study as incident heart diseases in the individuals who are free from myocardial infarction. Although studies have shown that, the manifestation of heart failures can be present without the left ventricular systolic dysfunction, other risk factors could lead to that. Also, they (Framingham study) were able to detect ‘’too much of cholesterol’’ as a link to cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, research believed that has elevated among certain heart diseases such as coronary heart often leads to stroke, too high blood pressure among numerous patients. Having said that, the search discovered ‘’obesity’’ also as a concomitantly with hypertension which elevates lipids and diabetes versus questions on smoking behavior. Having said that, these risk factors are believed to have attributed to heart diseases. Therefore, it became a national concern to the general US population and that of the fourth director of Framingham heart study, William Castelli
One of the most crucial health problems affecting the people of Kern County is diabetes. The risk factors include: being over the age of 45 years old, having high blood pressure, having pre-diabetes, coming from an ethnic minority or low income household, smoking, being overweight or obese, physical inactivity, and eating less than five fruits and vegetables a day. Diabetes is a chronic medical condition where people identify themselves with irregular quantities of blood glucose, which can be a cause from deficiencies in the making of insulin. There are two types of diabetes that people are diagnosed with. The first one is known as Type 1 diabetes, which has to do with influences in your genetics, and Type 2 diabetes, which is brought on by choices in your daily routine. Gestational diabetes occurs while you are pregnant, and if it is not monitored well pregnant women can develop Type 2 diabetes within 5-10 years (Diabetes in C...
Castro, F., Shaibi, G. Q., & Boehm-Smith, E. (2009). Ecodevelopmental contexts for preventing type 2 diabetes in Latino and other racial/ethnic minority populations. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 32(1), 89-105.
Diabetes Mellitus (Type 2 diabetes/adult onset diabetes) is an epidemic in American Indian and Alaska Natives communities.7 AI/AN have the highest morbidity and mortality rates in the United States.7 American Indian/Alaska Native adults are 2.3 more times likely to be diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus than non-Hispanic Whites.7 More importantly, AI/AN adolescent ages 10-14 are 9 times likely to be diagnosed with Diabetes Mellitus than non-Hispanic Whites.7 Type 2 diabetes is high blood glucose levels due to lack of insulin and/or inability to use it efficiently.8 Type 2 diabetes usually affects older adults; 8 however, the incident rate is rising quicker amongst AI/AN youth than non-Hispanic Whites.7 This is foreshadowing of earlier serious complications that will be effecting the AI/AN communitie...
Schulz, L.O., Bennette, P.H., Ravussin, E., Kidd, J.R., Kidd, K.K., Esparaza, J., and Valencia, M.E., “Effects of Traditional and Western Environments on Prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes in Pima Indians in Mexico and the U.S.” Diabetes Care 29.8 (2006): 1866-1871. Google Scholar. Web. 3 May 2014.
American Diabetes Association, “Native Americans and Diabetes”; available from http://www.diabetes.org/communityprograms-and-localevents/nativeamericans.jsp; Internet; accessed 11 November 2004.
Since 1960 the age-adjusted mortality rates for cardiovascular disease (CVD) has declined steadily in the U.S. due to multiple factors, but still remains one of the primary causes of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. Greater control of risk factors and improved treatments for cardiovascular disease has significantly contributed to this decline (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). In the U.S. alone it claims approximately 830,000 each year and accounts for 1/6 of all deaths under the age of 65 (Weiss and Lonnquist, 2011). Based on the 2007 mortality rate data an average of 1 death every 37 seconds is due to cardiovascular disease (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2009). Controlling and reducing risk factors is crucial for saving lives. There are a number of contributing risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which may appear in the form of hereditary, behavioral, and psychological, all of which ultimately converge in social or cultural factors.
A serious problem facing the Rio Grande Valley is the high rate of diabetes affecting the Mexican-American residents. Mexican-Americans compose the majority of the people living in the valley (Mata). Being diagnosed with type two diabetes affects many different aspects of their lives, making living more difficult than it should be.
As Paul Farmer pursues to bring health care to impoverished nations, he builds the health care systems, is able to provide services for ones living in poverty, and speaks about the improved health care system in Cuba. While watching Paul Farmer’s interview, he made it clear that giving impoverished nations health care will benefit them all. He says, “Is
A number of health –related behaviors contribute remarkably to the onset cardiovascular disease. Smokers are two times as likely to have a heart attack as non-smokers, and one fifth of the annual 1,000,000 deaths from CVD can be attributed to smoking. A sedentary lifestyle increases one’s risk of heart disease. However, America remains predominantly sedentary, and more than half of American adults do not practice the recommended level of physical activity, while more than one-fourth are completely sedentary Between 20-30%, approximately 58 million people, of the nation’s adults are obese. Obesity severely increases risk for hypertension, high cholesterol, and other chronic diseases which have been proven to cause heart disease. As one can clearly see cardiovascular disease is a very broad topic encom...
While reading chapter three of Poor Economics, by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, the writers explore how health care is perceived in the poor communities and explain their perception of the ordeal. The term “low hanging fruit” is used throughout the chapter to describe a low cost health care (preventative medicines and cheap care). Some of the “low hanging fruits,” as described by Baerjee and Duflo, are bed nets implemented in regions affected by Malaria and ORS salt to treat diarrhea. These “low hanging fruits’” however, are not being used as much because the poor choose to turn to more expensive medications once they fall ill. For example, within the poor communities, people tend to shy away from vaccinations or choose not to complete them. Such vaccinations that are needed to protect the community. Another example of underutilization within the poor communities is the failure to use chlorine to disinfect water. Clean water is a major key- player in health.
Diabetes is one of the leading cause in deaths among Americans. According to the American Diabetes Association there is said to be at least 25.8 million people in the United States with a case of diabetes. Nearly 7.0 million of these cases happen to be undiagnosed. Diabetes, also known as the silent killer, is a metabolism disorder. It is when the pancreas is not able to produce any or a certain amount of insulin. Insulin needs to be produced so that glucose can be properly transported through the body. Cells need glucose for energy and growth. A concerned nation has demanded that something be done to prevent cases of undiagnosed or misdiagnosed diabetes (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/diabetes/).
In the Philippines, based on the World Bank vital registration data, there were thirty infant deaths per one thousand live births. To further demonstrate this problem, the World Bank reports the United States as having only six infant deaths per one thousand live births (World Bank, 1995). After analyzing the data on over fifty countries listed on the World Bank Data Registration, it is evident that this is a global healthcare issue. On a macro-social level, it is apparent that the majority of countries with high rates of infant mortality shared similar characteristics such as small size, lack of governance and third world country ranking. In contrast, on a micro-social level, many socioeconomic factors have a significant impact on the capacity of individuals and families to satisfy their health needs. Poverty is one of the l...
Institute for Research on Poverty. (2013). Health & Poverty. Retrieved February 20, 2014, from http://www.irp.wisc.edu/research/health.htm