- Actors Octavia Spencer and Sofia Vergara will appear in a Super Bowl LX commercial together.
- The women are spreading the word about a screening method for kidney damage.
- The campaign aims to inform people with high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes that they may be missing a hidden signal from their kidneys that alerts them to increased risk for cardiovascular events like heart attack or stroke.
What do actors Octavia Spencer and Sofia Vergara have in common?
The women will appear in a Super Bowl LX commercial together to spread the word about type 2 diabetes, heart health, and kidney disease.
“This is our special mission, and we’re in it together, and to know that we get the opportunity to showcase this message at the big game, I mean it’s like a dream come true because we all know it’s the biggest watched sport event in the country, so if somebody really wants to make a difference, this is the way to go,” Vergara told Healthline.
The women are taking part in the Detect the SOS mission, a collaboration between Boehringer Ingelheim, the American Diabetes Association (ADA), National Kidney Foundation, Mended Hearts, and WomenHeart.
The campaign aims to inform people with high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes that they may be missing a hidden signal from their kidneys that alerts them to increased risk for cardiovascular events like heart attack or stroke. The campaign spreads awareness about the uACR (urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio) test can help with early detection of kidney disease.
Because diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease, Charles Henderson, CEO of the American Diabetes Association, said it’s part of the ADA’s mission to educate people about the complications of diabetes, how to prevent them, and the regular screenings needed to prevent or lessen complications.
“We joined the Detect the SOS collective to raise awareness about the need for people with diabetes to have regular kidney screening to help detect kidney damage early, which may help slow progression of chronic kidney disease and reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events,” Henderson told Healthline.
The mission is personal for both Spencer and Vergara.
While Vergara doesn’t have high blood pressure, several of her family members do, including her mother.
“It’s been kind of like a struggle because, you know, as they get older, they get a bit disobedient, so I have to be after her because it’s a silent killer. I have to make sure that she’s going to her checkups,” Vergara said.
Before joining the mission, she was already familiar with the uACR test.
“I called my mom and told her, ‘You have to get this test,’” said Vergara.
The cause is close to Spencer’s heart, too, as she lives with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
“As I’ve begun to age, it’s getting harder to [control] and in the process, I learned about the uACR screening and of course, I was nervous because there’s something else to think about, but I wanted to be a part of it because it is so important for people to know what their kidneys are doing,” she told Healthline.
Andrew James Sauer,MD, cardiologist, associate professor, and clinical trialist at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, said that major clinical guidelines recommend routine uACR screening, alongside an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), for people at elevated risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), including those with hypertension or type 2 diabetes.
“Identifying elevated uACR earlier helps clinicians intensify evidence-based risk reduction and kidney-protective strategies sooner, with the goal of slowing CKD progression and reducing downstream cardiovascular complications,” he told Healthline.
Black and Latino Americans are respectively four and 1.3 times more likely to have kidney failure compared to white Americans, reports the National Kidney Foundation. Additionally, Black individuals make up more than 35% of dialysis patients despite only encompassing 13.5% of the population.
“Women of color, particularly Black and Hispanic/Latina women, face a disproportionate burden of diabetes, hypertension, CKD, and cardiovascular disease, and too often encounter barriers that delay early detection,” said Sauer.
“These include gaps in access and continuity of care, under-resourced primary care settings, affordability and logistics of testing, language barriers, and differences in health literacy and trust that can be amplified by historical and ongoing inequities.”
Spencer encourages people in the Black community to ask their providers about risks for heart health and kidney disease.
“[Those] of us who have high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes are at risk for kidney damage, and this is why [Sofia] and I are so passionate about being a part of this health mission, because there is an easy screening,” she said. “And because diabetes and high blood pressure and heart problems are quite prevalent in the Black community, I feel compelled to help lead the charge.”
Vergara hopes the campaign will also encourage Hispanic and Latino people to take charge of their health.
“I want them to help themselves, to educate themselves…and don’t wait to go to the doctor and see what they tell you because…only you know your body, only you know your symptoms. You have to be clear and educated so that you can explain to them eloquently [what’s going on],” she said.
She is looking forward to reaching a large audience, especially within these communities, on Super Bowl Sunday.
“It’s exciting because Latinos are watching, and those are the people we want to target. Black communities are watching, people with diabetes type 2, and with high blood pressure, which is a lot of people in this country, so this is the perfect opportunity,” Vergara said.
Knowing that her mom and other family members have high blood pressure, Vergara makes it a priority to focus on her health.
“I’m 53 now. This is the age where, unfortunately, things start happening, so I am super careful now. I mean, it is what it is. I’m going to get whatever I’m gonna get, but I want to be prepared and educated when the time comes,” she said.
She believes spreading awareness and removing stigma from topics like menopause can help people better manage their health as they age.
“[We’re] realizing that menopause shouldn’t be taboo. Everybody goes through it, no matter how famous, rich, beautiful, successful you are, you’re going to go through it. There’s no stopping it,” she said. “It’s amazing that, I feel like little-by-little people are getting more out of this [taboo] thing that is like something that we shouldn’t be talking about.”
For Spencer, who is currently working on two true crime series she narrates and executive produces—Lost Women of Alaska (premiering February 24) and FEDS (returning for a second season in March)—she said that, with age, she’s come to value finding a group of people with whom she can share information.
“[The] more you know, the more you share. Because some things are taboo and I don’t understand why…especially with regard to women and aging,” she said.
“There’s not a lot of information out there, so I think it’s imperative that we have relationships where we can share health struggles, not only with our friends, but definitely with our care providers.”
Source link : https://www.healthline.com/health-news/octavia-spencer-sofia-vergara-kidney-warning
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Publish date : 2026-02-03 09:51:51
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