Transcultural Diabetes Nutrition Algorithm: Brazilian Application

The Transcultural Diabetes Nutrition Algorithm: A Middle Eastern Version

Diabetes prevalence is on the rise in the Middle East. In countries of the Gulf region-Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates-prevalence rates are among the highest in the world. Further, Egypt now ranks as one of the top 10 countries in the world for high number of people with diabetes. Medical nutrition therapy is key to optimal management of diabetes. Patient adherence to nutritional guidance depends on advice that is tailored to regional foods and cultural practices. In 2012, international experts created a transcultural Diabetes Nutrition Algorithm (tDNA) for broad applicability. The objective of this current project was to adapt the algorithm and supportive materials to the Middle East region. A Task Force of regional and global experts in the fields of diabetes, obesity, and metabolic disorders met to achieve consensus on Middle East-specific adaptations to the tDNA. Recommendations, position statements, figures, and tables are presented here, representing conclusions of the tDNA-Middle Eastern (tDNA-ME) Task Force. Educational materials can be used to help healthcare professionals optimize nutritional care for patients with type 2 diabetes. The tDNA-ME version provides evidence-based guidance on how to meet patients' nutritional needs while following customs of people living in the Middle Eastern region.

Transcultural Lifestyle Medicine in Type 2 Diabetes Care: Narrative Review of the Literature

Disparities in type 2 diabetes (T2D) care is a global problem across diverse cultures. The Dysglycemia-Based Chronic Disease (DBCD) model promotes early and sustainable interventions along the insulin resistance (stage 1), prediabetes (stage 2), T2D (stage 3), and complications (stage 4) spectrum. In this model, lifestyle medicine is the cornerstone of preventive care to reduce DBCD progression and the socioeconomic/biological burden of disease. A comprehensive literature review, spanning 2000 to 2021, was performed and 55 studies were included examining the effects of lifestyle medicine and their cultural adaptions with different prevention modalities. In stage 1, primordial prevention targets modifiable primary drivers (behavior and environment), unhealthy lifestyles, abnormal adiposity, and insulin resistance with educational and motivational health promotion activities at individual, group, community, and population-based scales. Primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention targets individuals with mild hyperglycemia, severe hyperglycemia, and complications, respectively, using programs that incorporate structured lifestyle interventions. Culturally adapted lifestyle change in primary and secondary prevention improved quality of life and biomarkers, but with a limited impact of tertiary prevention on cardiovascular events. In conclusion, lifestyle medicine with cultural adaptations is an integral part of preventive care in patients with T2D. However, considerable research gaps exist, especially for tertiary prevention.

Roles for community health workers in diabetes prevention and management in low- and middle-income countries

Diabetes prevalence is increasing worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), posing the need for improved detection and management strategies. Chronic disease models and lifestyle medicine provide structures for action. Community health workers (CHWs) can significantly contribute to chronic disease care if they are trained and integrated into low-resource health systems. Although most current CHWs worldwide are performing maternal/child health and infectious disease-related tasks, other programs involving CHWs for noncommunicable disease prevention and management are increasing. In this article, we discuss the advantages, challenges, and questions regarding possible roles assigned to CHWs in the prevention and management of diabetes. These roles include performing simple screening tests, implementing lifestyle/behavioral interventions, and connecting patients with alternatives to biomedicine. Specifically, CHWs can aid diabetes epidemiological surveillance by conducting risk score-based screening or capillary glucose testing, and they can facilitate diabetes self-management by delivering interventions described in the transcultural diabetes nutrition algorithm. Furthermore, while this role has not formally been assigned, CHWs can leverage their intimate knowledge of local practices to provide decision-making support to patients in environments with pluralistic health systems. Ethnocultural differences in CHW functions and transcultural adaptations of their roles in diabetes care should also be considered. In summary, CHWs can improve diabetes care by screening high-risk individuals and implementing lifestyle interventions, especially in LMIC.

Synthesis: Deriving a Core Set of Recommendations to Optimize Diabetes Care on a Global Scale

BACKGROUND

Diabetes afflicts 382 million people worldwide, with increasing prevalence rates and adverse effects on health, well-being, and society in general. There are many drivers for the complex presentation of diabetes, including environmental and genetic/epigenetic factors.

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to synthesize a core set of recommendations from information from 14 countries that can be used to optimize diabetes care on a global scale.

METHODS

Information from 14 papers in this special issue of Annals of Global Health was reviewed, analyzed, and sorted to synthesize recommendations. PubMed was searched for relevant studies on diabetes and global health.

FINDINGS

Key findings are as follows: (1) Population-based transitions distinguish region-specific diabetes care; (2) biological drivers for diabetes differ among various populations and need to be clarified scientifically; (3) principal resource availability determines quality-of-care metrics; and (4) governmental involvement, independent of economic barriers, improves the contextualization of diabetes care. Core recommendations are as follows: (1) Each nation should assess region-specific epidemiology, the scientific evidence base, and population-based transitions to establish risk-stratified guidelines for diagnosis and therapeutic interventions; (2) each nation should establish a public health imperative to provide tools and funding to successfully implement these guidelines; and (3) each nation should commit to education and research to optimize recommendations for a durable effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Systematic acquisition of information about diabetes care can be analyzed, extrapolated, and then used to provide a core set of actionable recommendations that may be further studied and implemented to improve diabetes care on a global scale.

Transculturalizing Diabetes Prevention in Latin America

BACKGROUND

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) imposes a heavy burden in developing countries, requiring effective primary prevention policies. Randomized clinical trials have identified successful strategies in T2D prevention. However, translating these results to real-life scenarios and adapting to ethnocultural differences is a major challenge. Transculturalization allows incorporating cultural factors to diabetes prevention strategies to optimize implementation of clinical trials results. The purpose of this paper is to review the transcultural adaptations developed for T2D prevention in Latin America (LA).

METHODS

A comprehensive literature review spanning 1960-2016 was performed, using "Diabetes," "Latin America," "Prevention," "Screening," and "Tools" as key words.

RESULTS

Two major tasks are underway in LA: adaptation of screening tools for high-risk individuals, and implementation of diabetes prevention programs. The Finnish Diabetes Risk Score (FINDRISC) is the most widely used screening tool to detect new cases of T2D and people with prediabetes, and it has been adapted (LA-FINDRISC) to include the waist circumference cutoff values appropriate for LA population (≥94 cm for men and ≥90 cm for women). The validation of the LA-FINDRISC performance depends on the local characteristics. A LA-FINDRISC score >10 may be the best cutoff to identify individuals with impaired glucose regulation in population-based studies, but a higher score (>12-14) might be more appropriate in a clinical setting. A shorter version of the FINDRISC using only the 4 variables with highest impact has been developed and validated in Colombia (ColDRISC). The translation of the Diabetes Prevention Program study in a Latino population in Venezuela found a significant improvement in cardiometabolic risk factors. An adaptation of the Diabetes Prevention Study in the DEMOJUAN study in Barranquilla, Colombia, reduced 2-hour postload glucose.

CONCLUSION

Successful transculturalization strategies have been implemented in screening tools and prevention programs in LA.

Transcultural Endocrinology: Adapting Type-2 Diabetes Guidelines on a Global Scale

Type-2 diabetes (T2D) needs to be prevented and treated effectively to reduce its burden and consequences. White papers, such as evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPG) and their more portable versions, clinical practice algorithms and clinical checklists, may improve clinical decision-making and diabetes outcomes. However, CPG are underused and poorly validated. Protocols that translate and implement these CPG are needed. This review presents the global dimension of T2D, details the importance of white papers in the transculturalization process, compares relevant international CPG, analyzes cultural variables, and summarizes translation strategies that can improve care. Specific protocols and algorithmic tools are provided.