How Diabetes is Overtaking a Small, West Texas County

By: Delaney Ayers

Cochran County is one of the poorest counties in the Texas panhandle.

More than a quarter of its population lives in poverty.

 Residents also happen to have the highest rate of diabetes in the region and the 19th highest rate in the state.

Like many shrinking rural communities, Cochran lacks access to adequate healthcare and healthy food and groceries.

Cochran Memorial Hospital has only 18 beds, making it hard for doctors to see everyone or provide appropriate care, especially for those diagnosed with diabetes. The nearest grocery store,  Lowe’s Market, is a small establishment and does not always have diabetic healthy ingredients.

“The health disparities and unequal access to healthcare is what significantly impacts the prevention of diagnosis treatment for diabetes,” said Jennifer Alvarez,  registered dietitian and diabetes educator with Combest Center at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. “It makes it harder for those populations to receive the necessary  screenings, intervention, and consistent management of the disease.”

Lower income folks are more vulnerable to diabetes and with inadequate health care their symptoms can go undetected, Alvarez said.

“Sometimes a diagnosis is missed and it’s not until the complications get really bad to that point  where they end up in the hospital and the diagnosis comes,” she said, “It does make it harder for people to manage their diabetes because they don’t have access to a lot of these tools and  resources that we have here and really prevents them from having good outcome measures.” 

In Cochran County, 17% of the population has been diagnosed with diabetes and 34% of residents are uninsured. Without insurance, the disease can be almost impossible to manage. 

“If I’m sitting here educating a patient on how to manage their  blood sugar levels and they don't have access or funds to pay for a glucometer or pay for some of  these supplies it’s like what’s the purpose of me educating if they can’t have access,” Alvarez  said, “Not having insurance can prevent them from just managing their diabetes to the best of  their ability.” 

Another factor that increases the risk of diabetes is sleep deprivation, and in Cochran County, sleep deprivation is also a problem. About 37% of residents suffer from insufficient sleep. 

“Sleep deprivation we know can significantly contribute to developing serious various health issues,”  Alvarez said. “This includes obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure because of the  hormonal disruption that happens.” “You have an increase in cortisol levels, increase in appetite regulation levels and so that overall leads to an increase in appetite which can lead to an increase in weight gain.

“It’s not a direct effect,” Alvarez said, “but there’s that domino effect.”