NEW YORK CITY, April 8 - The Iago Galdston Lecture: Diabetes: A Cultural History, hosted by The New York Academy of Medicine’s (NYAM) section on the History of Medicine on Thursday, March 27, discussed the interplay between culture, diet, and medicine in the making of today’s diabetes epidemic and discussed why the shift may have occurred. Arleen M. Tuchman, PhD, Professor of History and Director of the Center for Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University spoke.
According to Dr Tuchman, ninety to ninety-five percent of all cases of diabetes in the United States are of the type 2 variety. This figure, an estimated 21 million people or 7 percent of the world’s population, puts the disease at near epidemic proportions. Research shows that Native Americans, African Americans, and Hispanics/Latinos run the greatest risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Dr. Tuchman explored the connection between race and ethnicity with diabetes throughout her discussion.
Dr. Tuchman’s presentation, states that as of 2005, 15.1 percent of Native Americans, 13.3 percent of non-Hispanic African Americans, 9.5 percent of Hispanic Latino Americans and 8.7 percent of non-Hispanic white people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. “The numbers are clear, but what do they mean, what links them? Lifestyle, foods, the way food prepared, and exercise,” explained Dr. Tuchman.
The issue of race and diabetes has been present throughout history. Researchers speculated that patterns of migration, urbanization, and changes in food production and consumption could be partially to blame for the increased rate of contracting the disease.
“Such views crossed the ocean and had a huge impact on the medical community. William Osler, perhaps the most famous clinician was quoted as saying that “Hebrews” were the most prone to Diabetes,” said Dr. Tuchman.
Dr. Tuchman was chosen as the Iago Galdston lecturer this year for her research interests, which include the cultural history of health and disease, the rise of scientific medicine, and scientific and medical constructions of gender and sexuality. Tuchman is the author of Science, Medicine, and the State in Germany (1993) and Science Has No Sex: The Life of Marie Zakrzewska, M.D. (2006). Her article "Situating Gender: Marie E. Zakrzewska and the Place of Science in Women's Medical Education," Isis (2004) won the 2006 History of Science Society's Margaret W. Rossiter Prize for the best article on the history of women in science in the previous three years.
The annual Iago Galdston Lecture honors Dr Galdston, a psychiatrist and educator who dedicated his career to enhancing the health of individuals and the community.
The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. Its research, education, community engagement, and evidence-based advocacy seek to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. The impact of these initiatives reaches into neighborhoods in New York City, across the country, and around the world. It works with community based organizations, academic institutions, corporations, the media, and government to catalyze and contribute to changes that promote health.
Posted on 04/08/2008
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