WEDNESDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- To help combat one of the most serious health issues facing Hispanics in the United States, a new Spanish language guide to type 2 diabetes has been released.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recently released Pastillas para la diabetes tipo 2, a consumer guide aimed at the estimated one in eight Hispanics who take prescription drugs for diabetes. The guide provides information on how to control one's condition and offers comparisons of various oral medications for their illness.

"This guide offers critically important information to help Hispanics who have diabetes control their disease and avoid side effects," AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy said in a prepared statement. By providing information in Spanish, she said she hopes this will help Hispanic patients become more involved in their own health care and help level the racial and ethnic disparities in health care.

The guide describes the workings and effects, good and bad, of 10 generic and 13 brand-name diabetes medications. It also warns patients of potential medication-related problems such as hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), provides simple cost comparisons between each generic and brand-name diabetes medications, and lists appropriate dosages for medications being taken in combination.

The Spanish guide is based on the recent AHRQ-funded report, Comparative Effectiveness and Safety of Oral Diabetes Medications for Adults With Type 2 Diabetes, which is based on scientific evidence found in 216 published studies.

The guide can be ordered free by sending an e-mail to ahrqpubs@ahrq.hhs.gov or by calling 1-800-358-9295.

More information

The American Diabetes Association has more diabetes information in Spanish.