An Insight into the Pima Native American Tribe and their Fight Against Diabetes

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic health condition and is prevalent across the United States and globe affecting people of all ages. Type I Diabetes is caused by an autoimmune reaction and tends to develop very early in life while Type II Diabetes develops over the course of many years and is often times related to lifestyle factors such as inactivity, excessive eating or poor dieting. Type II diabetes is a condition that is the result of insufficient production of insulin within the body resulting in high blood sugar.

Individuals with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing other medical complications including, strokes, cardiovascular diseases, blindness, kidney failure, and more. Side effects often include, nausea, dizziness, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.

What is the problem?

In the United States it is reported that roughly 100 million individuals have prediabetes with the CDC reporting that 37.3 million have diabetes, 24 million of those cases being Type II (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022).

While, diabetes can impact anyone, Native Americans are at a disproportionately high risk of developing it. Around 1 in 6 American Indian adults end up being diagnosed with Diabetes, which is more than double the general population’s rate, with some tribes having rates as high as 60 percent (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022).

Who are the Pima?

The Pima American Indian tribe are a group of individuals that reside in Pima, Arizona. This group has the highest reported prevalence of diabetes when compared to all other racial groups. This is also a group of individuals that are largely impoverished and face a variety of other environmental obstacles. With these adverse conditions, the Pima tribe tends to experience life expectancies much lower than national averages. According to the National Institute of Health, Pima men live about 53 years and Pima women about 63 while the national average for the U.S. is around 72 years for men and 78 for women (Melillo, 1993).

Why is the prevalence of diabetes among the Pima so severe?

In former years, the Pima were a group of people heavily reliant on access to water for farming. Drastic historical and cultural shifts over decades have impacted how this group, and other Native Americans, live their lives. When paired with poor access to nutrient-rich foods, this leads to drastically higher rates of diabetes.

The drastic shift started with the damning of the Gila River in the 1920s, eliminating the access to water the Pima tribe once enjoyed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) put policies in place in the 1970s and 1980s which did not allow Native Americans, the Pima included, to get farm help such as agricultural loans in times of need, resulting in many finding sedentary jobs (Booth et al, 2017). This forced them away from their farming and hunting lifestyle to one that was more sedentary and focused on cheap, quick food. This drove an increase in consuming affordable, junk food, and has led to less blood sugar management and increased rates of diabetes. With the Pima facing low socioeconomic status, decreased access to healthy foods, and the increasing cost of healthcare, it has become increasingly difficult to fight the spread of diabetes and promote health and well-being.

Cost of the problem and why it should be addressed:

In the United States alone diabetes contributes a total of 413 billion dollars in medical costs and lost work (CDC, 2024). This is a staggering amount of money, averaging out to about 11,000 dollars a person in the United States. This is an estimate including each of the roughly 360 million people in the US, not just solely those with diabetes. Therefore, the true yearly cost is much higher for those with diabetes, placing an even higher burden on those in poverty. These individuals are less likely to be able to afford proper treatment, medications, diets, etc. that are necessary and helpful in fighting diabetes. In all, diabetes can have a severe mental, physical, and emotional toll on an individual, highlighting the severity of the problem and emphasizing the need for drastic change.

Sources:

Booth, C., Nourian, M., Weaver, S., Gull, B., & Kamimura, A. (2017, March). (PDF) Policy and Social Factors Influencing Diabetes among Pima Indians in Arizona, USA. ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315772355_Policy_and_Social_Factors_Influencing_Diabetes_among_Pima_Indians_in_Arizona_USA

CDC. (2024, May 8). Health and economic benefits of diabetes interventions. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP). https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/priorities/diabetes-interventions.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, March 28). By the Numbers: Diabetes in America. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/health-equity/diabetes-by-the-numbers.html

Melillo, W. (1993, March 30). WHY ARE THE PIMA INDIANS SICK? STUDIES ON ARIZONA TRIBE SHOW EXCESSIVE RATES OF DIABETES, OBESITY AND KIDNEY DISEASE. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1993/03/30/why-are-the-pima-indians-sick-studies-on-arizona-tribe-show-excessive-rates-of-diabetes-obesity-and-kidney-disease/1f978958-e73b-483a-9af9-47d9efdad534/

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