Barbershops may be an effective location to screen black men for diabetes who do not have a regular primary care physician, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
For the study, researchers tested the blood sugar levels of 290 black men at eight barbershops in New York City between Sept. 19, 2017, and Jan. 23, 2019. The barbershops were run by black owners and located in neighborhoods known for having a population that struggles with glycemic control.
Testing revealed 10 percent of participants had blood sugar levels indicative of diabetes, and 28.3 percent had levels that qualified as prediabetes.
"Our findings suggest that community-based diabetes screening in barbershops owned by black individuals may play a role in the timely diagnosis of diabetes and may help to identify black men who need appropriate care for their newly diagnosed diabetes," study authors concluded.