HI HCR57

Urges the Department of Health to endorse the "Screen at 23" campaign that lowers diabetes screening threshold for adult Asian Americans from a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 23.

Notes that Asian Americans in Hawaii comprise 56.2 percent of the population and are 30 percent more likely to have diabetes than White Americans, with current BMI 25 screening guidelines missing 32 percent of diabetes diagnoses.

Cites that screening at BMI 23 would unmask thousands of new diabetes cases and more than three times that amount of pre-diabetes cases in the State, enabling early intervention and treatment.

Directs the Department of Health to encourage all public and private health care providers and facilities to participate in the diabetes screening awareness and disparity elimination efforts.

References endorsement of the lower BMI screening threshold by the World Health Organization and the 2015 American Diabetes Association guidelines.