Epidemiology Of Diabetes: Yesterday And Today

The name of the disease is named Diabetes Mellitus (most common types are diabetes 1 and 2). Diabetes is Greek for siphon, meaning to pass through. Mellitus is Latin, meaning honeyed, or sweet, because the urine attracted ants and was sweet.

The impact of diabetes on African Americans is disproportionate. An estimated four million of African Americans with the age of twenty and above are diabetic. They are more prone to have diabetes as compared to non-Hispanic whites. Once an African American reaches the age of 65,

Another health issue that African Americans struggle with is diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that involves the body producing high levels of blood glucose levels (Powers, Dodd & Noland, 2006). There are two types of diabetes; type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is known as the juvenile onset diabetes and caused by a lack of insulin production and secretion while type 2 is characterized by deficiency of insulin production, decreased production of insulin and increased insulin production and can usually be controlled by diet and exercise (Smeltzer & Bare, 2003). African Americans are twice as likely to

Type II Diabetes in African Americans is a major health disparity that is growing every day and needs to be understood more. According to the American Diabetes Association, African Americans are 1.7 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites (American Diabetes Association). Why is that? Scientist have been extensively trying to answer this question with various studies and experiments. Though it is not yet fully understood, small achievements have been made and answers are constantly being searched for. Testing and early diagnosis, primary prevention, access to care for everyone and improving that quality of care will make a difference in the number of casualties and people being affected in the African American community.

Over the past 30 years, the rate of diabetes in African American populations has tripled. Prevalence of diabetes in adults is 1.4 times as frequent in African Americans as in Caucasians. The increased prevalence is not dependent on gender.2 Additionally, nearly half of adults who meet the criteria for

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

Diabetes, which is also known as diabetes mellitus, is described as a group of metabolic diseases where a person has high blood glucose. This is caused by insulin production becoming inadequate (MacGill, 2015). In the United States alone almost 30 million adults and children have diabetes with around 86 million having prediabetes. This leading it to be one of the primary causes of death for 69,071 Americans each year. Studies show that Hispanics and Non Hispanic Blacks are at a higher risk of becoming diabetic compared to other races such as Asian Americans, Central and Southern Americans, and Cubans.

Diabetes is a problem that is expanding across the nation due to various factors that may be avoided such as bad eating habits, lack of exercise and education. These components can all be reversed, which will result to a diabetic free life. According to Diabetes Research Institute, “the most common form of diabetes is called type 2, or non-insulin dependent diabetes”. People with type 2 are able to produce some of their own insulin, yet often, it’s not enough (Diabetes Research Institute, 2016). Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States and effects over 23.6 million people (Healthy People, 2014).

From a historical standpoint, diabetes was not always considered to be a public health issue. As with many of our modern disease, there was little known about the mechanism of diabetes when it was first discovered. The Greek physician Aretaeus first coined the term “diabetes mellitus” to refer to the sweet taste of urine that diabetics were noted to have and it wasn’t actually until 1776 when scientists measured the glucose content in a diabetic’s urine and found it to be elevated (Polonsky, 2012). Ironically, Aretaeus also wrote, that “diabetes is a remarkable affliction, one not very common among men (Laios, Karamanou, Saridaki, Androutsos, 2012). Throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries, diabetes was still considered to be a rare condition and because so little was known, it was almost always fatal within a short time period.

Diabetes, often known as Diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has a high blood glucose or blood sugar. This can be caused by inadequate production of insulin or the body doesn 't respond to proper amounts of insulin. Some patients can have both things to happen to cause the disease. Many people think Diabetes comes from the foods you eat and the drinks you drink, that isn 't true. Diabetes is hereditary, its comes from your family traits, you are born with it and

According to a study provided in USNews, there are regional issues when it comes to the rates of type-2 diabetes within the United States today (Seppa, 2011). The "diabetes belt" that can clearly be seen in the Southeast part of the country is one of these regional issues. Southern people, on average, tend to have a higher incidence of diabetes than people in other areas of the country. With that in mind, it is important to realize that there are various reasons why that is the case. It is not just one factor causing the problems, and it is not just the Southeast where diabetes is seen. There are other areas of the country where pockets of diabetes are seen, so no specific place or region of the country is immune to problems with diabetes. The following map shows the basic breakdown of diabetes across the country for the latest year where statistics on the issue are available (Seppa, 2011).

People with diabetes in the family are two to six times more likely to have diabetes than people without diabetes in the family.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, "[By 1993] death certificates listed diabetes as the fifth leading cause of death for Blacks aged 45 to 64, and the third leading cause of death for those aged 65 and older in 1990.” (Bailey, 2007). These statistics show how serious the problem of diabetes has become in the black community. Epidemiological studies can focus the efforts of the healthcare community to effective interventions aimed at lowering the prevalence and incidence of diabetes among African Americans.

Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a chronic, lifelong condition that affects your body 's ability to use the energy found in food. There are

     According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, about 17 million Americans have diabetes and every year about 1 million more age 20 or older are diagnosed with the disorder. People who are overweight, do not exercise, and are 30 years or older are more likely to get the disease (especially type 2 diabetes). People who are also of African American, Latino/Hispanic, Native American, Alaskan