También puedes leer este artículo en español, La Pobreza es Causa de Enfermedades.

There are diseases that especially affect the Latino community, such as diabetes and obesity. The root could be in money rather than genetics.

Many immigrant Latinos arrive with little or no knowledge of English. For Dr. Eduardo Ochoa, the main health problem among Latinos of first generation is not illness but the language barrier. "Parents bring their children as interpreters," says Ochoa, a pediatrician and professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock.

Health facilities all over the state have hired bilingual assistants, but the situation is always difficult in rural areas, says Ochoa.

Other problems that affect Latinos, according to Ochoa, are obesity, lack of adequate attention to mental health and problems related to the pandemic. The frequent cause of these problems is the economic and social situation of the families.

"Social problems impact the health of people who do not have home and food security and are exposed to violence," says Ochoa. "Families often have to decide between paying rent or buying food."

Sometimes families can afford their housing, but it is of poor quality, like motor vehicles in RV parks that are never repaired.

Another problem is access to health insurance for immigrant families. For families with no insurance "if the child suffers an accident or has a catastrophic health problem, the family will not be able to pay the rent or food," he says.

Economic shortages bring problems such as teen gun violence, risk of suicide, drug overdose, use of marijuana and alcohol, reckless driving and the dangers of being stopped by the police for driving without a license or simply "because of the way how you look or talk,” says Ochoa.

Likewise, the problem of obesity may have cultural roots.  

On the other hand, undiagnosed diabetes affects 4.4% of the Latino population, compared to 2.7% of the non-Latino white population, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The cost of insulin has doubled in recent years creating new problems for patients.