ABSTRACT
African Americans and other ethnic minority groups suffer disproportionately more from diabetes and its complications than do Caucasians. The initial choice of medication for control of hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes patients is a matter of clinical judgement. Persons from underrepresented minority groups develop type 2 diabetes at a higher rate than European Americans. Diabetic patients from underrepresented minority groups have poorer access to medical care and poorer outcomes compared with patients from the majority population. The current policy of diabetes management is maintenance of blood glucose as close to the normal range as possible without intolerable hypoglycemia. The therapeutic goals in diabetes are alleviation of symptoms through normalization or near-normalization of fasting and postprandial blood-glucose levels, and prevention of acute and long-term complications. Obesity and physical inactivity induce insulin resistance, which negates efforts to achieve good glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes.
