Top in endocrinology: Diabetes tied to redlining; weighing costs of immune therapies

Diabetes is more common in historically redlined neighborhoods, and residents of those neighborhoods have higher exposure to adverse social factors like discrimination, poverty, decreased food access and unemployment, researchers said.

Redlining began in 1934 when the Federal Housing Administration began determining people’s ability to obtain credit and insurance based on a color-coded scale. Redlined neighborhoods, which often included more racial and ethnic minority groups, were considered more hazardous by the FHA than other neighborhoods.

It was the top story in endocrinology last week.

In another top story, a presenter at the International Conference on Advanced Technologies & Treatments for diabetes compared the cost-effectiveness of hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery systems vs. immune therapies for treating type 1 diabetes. Immune therapies are currently too expensive for many patients, the presenter said, so to be more cost-effective, their effects would have to be sustained after one course, rather than requiring repeated treatments.

Read these and more top stories in endocrinology below:

Diabetes prevalence higher among people living in historically redlined areas

Neighborhoods that were historically redlined on Home Owners’ Loan Corporation maps in the 1930s are associated with higher diabetes prevalence than non-redlined areas after adjusting for 2010 population figures, according to study data. Read more.

Hybrid closed-loop may be more cost-effective than immune therapies for type 1 diabetes

Hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery systems are more cost-effective for treating type 1 diabetes than immune therapies unless the effects of immune therapies are persistent over a lifetime after one course, according to a speaker. Read more.

Switching to high-deductible health plan increases odds for diabetes-related complications

Adults with diabetes who are forced to switch to a high-deductible health insurance plan have higher risk for diabetes-related complications than those who remain on a regular health plan, according to study data. Read more.

Adults diagnosed with mild autonomous cortisol secretion more likely to develop CKD

Adults with mild autonomous cortisol secretion are more likely to have advanced chronic kidney disease at adrenal adenoma diagnosis than adults with a nonfunctioning adrenal adenoma, according to study data. Read more.

Testosterone therapy does not improve most psychosocial measures for men with hypogonadism

Testosterone replacement therapy did not improve most quality of life and psychosocial measures for men with pathological hypogonadism who were at high risk for type 2 diabetes, according to study findings. Read more.