Diabetes Symptoms, Causes And Treatments

151,000 people below the age of 20 years have diabetes (CDC, 2009). There has been an

Diabetes refers to a set of several different diseases. It is a serious health problem throughout the world and fourth leading cause of death by disease in the country. All types of diabetes result in too much sugar, or glucos in the blood. To understand why this happens it would helpful if we understand how the body usually works. When we eat, our body breaks down the food into simpler forms such as glucose. The glucose goes into the bloodstream, where it then travels to all the cells in your body. The cells use the glucose for energy. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps move the glucose from bloodstream to the cells. The pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus further explains the concept on how this disease works. Pancreas

Most patients who have diabetes for an extended amount of time may end up with diabetic neuropathy, which is damage caused to the nerves; it affects the peripheral nerves, autonomic nerves, and focal nerves. From the high blood sugar, it can destroy parts of the patient’s blood vessels, heart, and kidneys. If diabetes is not treated, it will almost always cause heart disease or kidney disease.

The rate of diabetes in the United States is one of the highest compared to other developed countries. An estimate of 9.3% of the population have diabetes, of those with diabetes 27.8% have yet to be diagnosed (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014). This means that approximately 8.1 million people are currently living with diabetes, but are unaware of it. As of 2012, 12.3% of people with diabetes were 20 years old or older, the largest population diagnosed with diabetes were adults 65 years old or older. 25.9% of this population lives with diabetes (CDC, 2014). On a national level, the CDC have launched initiatives that focus on prevention and disease management. The National Diabetes Prevention Program is an example of one such initiative. This program focuses on lifestyle changes,

According to the American Diabetes Association, more Americans die each year from diabetes than from AIDS and breast cancer combined. As a result, researchers have extensively studied the causes, treatments, and interventions for diabetes. Despite efforts to ameliorate its effects, diabetes remains a prevalent danger in society. In 2014, 7% of U.S. adults were living with diagnosed diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016). In Louisiana that number was even higher - 10.4% of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes. Breaking it down by age group, however, in Louisiana 3% of people aged 18 and 44 have been diagnosed, and 15.2% of people 45-64. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015a). Several studies have predicted future rates of diabetes both in the United States and worldwide - nearly all of these studies reached a similar conclusion: rates of diabetes will continue to rise (Boyle et al., 2001).

Diabetes can affect the entire body. Two-thirds of adults with diabetes have high blood pressure, or hypertension. This condition is serious because it leads to an increased risk of stroke, heart disease, kidney and eye problems.

Uncontrolled diabetes can affect nearly every organ of the body; of which, heart disease and kidney failure are most commonly impacted. Known as diabetes mellitus, a collective term for various blood abnormalities, the term diabetes refers to either a scarcity of insulin in the body or the body’s inability to accept insulin. Though the symptoms of diabetes are manageable, many are unaware as to having it. According to the CDC report “2011 Diabetes Fact Sheet,” approximately 6 million people in the United States have undiagnosed diabetes. Undetected, diabetes can become deadly. In a recent World Health Organization report “Diabetes Action Now: An Initiative of the World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation,” it

2. “Among adults with diagnosed diabetes (type 1 or type 2), 12% take insulin only, 14% take both insulin and oral medication, 58% take oral

Diabetes affects over 180 million people in the US and is projected that by 2025 this figure will increase to 300 million.

Diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases characterized by high blood glucose.and the disease accounts for 3.1% of total deaths in the U.S.

Diabetes is a disease that causes the human body to not create or not use insulin effectively. The body needs insulin to take the energy or sugars and turn it into energy. The human body needs energy to survive. Diabetes can be broken into three main categories. Type 1 diabetes is where the body makes no insulin at all. Type 2 diabetes is where the body does not produce enough insulin or it does not use it correctly. Gestational diabetes is more of a type 2 diabetes for pregnant women, which usually returns to normal after birth (Ruder 7-8).

According to the report from the center for disease and prevention (CDC) in 2011, nearly 26million Americans are suffering from Diabetes.3 Furthermore, CDC reported in 2014 that there are chances of 40% American adults developing diabetes in their lifetime and half of the ethnic minorities will be affected. It is worthwhile to note that obesity was reported as the reason for the tremendous increase.4

29.1 million people or 9.3 percent of the population in the united states have diabetes. 21 million of those have been diagnosed. 8.1 million or 27.8 percent of people with diabetes are undiagnosed. This proves that anyone can have diabetes, which should encourage the public to be tested just in case. Diabetes has not only affected my family, but has affected thousands of others globally; however, a silver lining does exist in the near future for a cure.

Today “more than 29 million Americans are living with diabetes” (cdc.gov) this means that about 9 percent of the population in the United States is currently living with diabetes. There are two different subcategories of diabetes, type 1 diabetes which is mostly common in young children and adolescents and type 2 diabetes also known as adult onset diabetes, which is mostly found in adults, however is on the rise in children. “Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes, and type 1 diabetes accounts for about 5%.” (Santos-Longhurst, Adrian. "Type 2 Diabetes Statistics”.)

Diabetes is a major medical problem in the US. In the year 2015, it was reported that 86 million Americans are diagnosed with prediabetes (ADA, 2016). Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States (CDC, 2016). Research has