Prevention And Treatment Of Diabetes

With over 30 million people having diabetes, the prevalence is continuing to rise. An estimated 200,000 American youth are effected by type 1 diabetes and 40,000 new cases are diagnosed each year¹. The rate for type 1 diabetes in youth has increased by 1.8% each year. In comparison, the prevalence for type 2 diabetes in youth has increased at a rate of 4.8% annually². No matter whether diabetes is type 1 or type 2 in children, family involvement is essential for optimal outcomes³.

According to the United States Library of Medicine, diabetes is a disease that occurs when the body does not make or use insulin correctly, therefore causing fluctuating amounts of glucose in the blood. Diabetes is a disease that affects millions of adults and children from various cultures. According to the American Diabetes Association (2014), someone is diagnosed with diabetes every 19 seconds. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention most recent statistical report indicated there were 29.1 million adults and children affected by diabetes. Those numbers are astounding. Unfortunately, the American Diabetes Association (2014) estimates by year of 2050, one out of three adults will have diabetes. Therefore, it is imperative that adults take aggressive measures to prevent this disease. By the same token, diabetes diagnosed in children and adolescent is becoming more prevalent every day. The American Diabetes Association (2014) reported there were about 216, 00 children in the United States with diabetes. It is predicted that one out three children will be diagnosed with diabetes in their life. The statistics for both adults and children with diabetes are frightening; however, early detection can help lower the risk of developing the debilitating effects of diabetes.

Diabetes is a serious medical condition that can also be a risk factor for the development of many different diseases and conditions including dementia, heart disease, and CVA. Thus, effective management of diabetes is very important. Patient compliance can be difficult to achieve if the person affected with diabetes is not educated about the illness or treatment, has not fully accepted the diagnosis or its severity, will not change habits or believes that the prescribed treatment regime is too difficult or ineffective, has cultural beliefs conflicting with the treatment regime, experiences stressful events, lacks social support, or suffers from psychiatric issues unrelated to diabetes (Gerard, Griffin, & Fitzpatrick, 2010). As one may expect, adequate education programs are essential tools when dealing with diabetics. Solid education will provide the patient with information as well as teaching the necessary skills to manage the disorder. The primary focus of any diabetes education program must be to empower patients as a part of the multidisciplinary team. This team should be focused at integrating diabetes into the lives of the patients and this focus should be based on the decisions made by the patient, otherwise the treatment plan can be looked on as forced (Gerald et al., 2010). Every patient stricken with diabetes has the right to benefit from an education program of this type. First, basic education and facts should be administered directly following the diagnosis of

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,

Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that is affecting children and adolescents. It occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height and can result in serious medical conditions. The prevalence of childhood obesity has increased significantly over the past ten years. Childhood diabetes has been on the rise since the early 90’s and continues to rise. In the article, “Don’t Blame the Eater” David Zinczenko, shows that “ Before 1994… only about 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity-related, or Type 2, diabetes. Today...Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of new childhood cases of diabetes in this country” (463). Type 2

In order to combat the epidemic of type 2 diabetes in America, a series of subsidies and social programs promoting and mandating nutrition and exercise for weight loss should be created with the trillion dollar budget. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in America is rising and has doubled over the last 30 years to 23 million (Campbell). Currently, it costs the nation about $90 billion a year to treat the complications of type 2 diabetes (Hoerger). Added with the co-morbidities of type 2 diabetes, namely cardiovascular disease, obesity, and kidney failure, it becomes apparent that drastic measures are needed. In order to combat this epidemic, the U.S. Congress is proposing to use a trillion dollars to do whatever it takes to reduce the

Childhood obesity affects 12.5 million children and teens and this has continued to increase over the years because the heaviest are getting even heavier (“CDC Grand Rounds: Childhood Obesity in the United States.”). Obesity is a growing disease in the United States and it is only getting worse. Data has presented in a new study that 8 year old are having problems with their hearts, as obesity has taken over America. Of 20 obese children, 40% had enlarged hearts, therefore letting us know that the organ is strained. Children now are setting themselves up for longterm heart failure and disease and more and more children will undergo this problem if they do not make a change. Type 2 diabetes is becoming more common, in the 1980’s, this was unheard

In recent years the prevalence of diabetes in children has been higher for pre-diabetes (International Journal of Obesity, 2009). This is a great concern because children are only a few steps away from acquiring a chronic disease that can be easily prevented if the health behavior is changed. According to the CDC, 15% to 30% of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years (2012). Another high risk factor for children is ethnicity. Studies have demonstrated a higher prevalence of obese

In the article Type 2 Diabetes in Children and Young Adults: A New Epidemic by Francine Ratner Kaufman mentions that in the past decade there has been an increase in child obesity usually causing the diagnoses of type two diabetes in children. In this past decade there has been an over all eight to forty five percent increase. The increase of this diagnosis is now being referred to as the diabetes epidemic. According to Medical News Today, diabetes is also mentioned as the diabetes mellitus; it is a disorder in which a person has high blood glucose levels, because there is not enough insulin production or because the body does not respond to the insulin itself. People with this disorder experience frequent urination, extreme thirst, and increased hunger. Healthier school lunches will lead to healthier nutritional choices throughout the children’s life. Through making healthier school lunches normal, which include junk food as opposed to the children’s exceptions, he/she will unintentionally learn about nutrition, healthier meals and increase their knowledge about why eating healthy is a worthy choice. Children who are provided with sugary and fatty foods at school or at their homes can develop poor eating habits that can last a lifetime. If a children’s eating habit needs to be changed there is no better place than school, because it is where he/she spends most of his/her

Teens and children in North America are starting to suffer from diabetes at such an earlier age. This disease tends to be more common with children that are overweight. “..type 2 diabetes affect about 186,000 youth under age 20.”(Kaufman ,et al., 2009) Diabetes is very common when people create a diet full on unhealthy foods, no portion control and limited to no physical activity at all. Maintaining a healthy diet but also lifestyle is key when it comes to lowering your risk for diabetes. “Careful ongoing

Adult-Onset Diabetes, also known as Type 2 diabetes, is a condition that affects the metabolizing of sugar within your body; this is one of the body’s most important sources for fuel so it is crucial for the function to work or for you to be in control of the condition. The disease is most common in adults, but it is becoming more common in children because of the increase in childhood obesity in America and across the World. (Staff, Mayo Clinic 2016) Beginning in the 1990’s investigators began to observe that in some regions of the United States, Type 2 diabetes is as frequent as Type 1 diabetes mellitus in children and teens. Type 2 diabetes is a serious and costly disease. There are many chronic complications that can arise, including

According to Born (n.d.), diabetes has become a growing concern throughout the world with an increase of diabetes related cases by 4.1 percent since 1985. There are currently 285 million people suffering from diabetes and it is estimated that this number will increase to 438 million by 2030. Diabetes cases are not only reported among adults but also children with 18.8 million diagnosed cases and 7 million undiagnosed. In the United

Type 2 diabetes has become an epidemic in the United States. Diabetes affects 25.8 mil-lion people of all ages, which is 8.3% of the total population in the United States (NDIC, 2011). Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90-95% of all diabetes cases and is strongly associated with obesity, age, and physical inactivity (NDIC, 2011). Apart from its prevalence, diabetes involves direct medical costs of $116 billion, and medical expenditures for those with the diagnosis are 2.3 times higher than expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes (NDIC, 2011). Practitioners need to focus on finding the perfect treatment regimen, which may include physical activity along with diet modifications and pharmacologic interventions, in an effort to decrease the financial burden, control blood glucose levels, and improve the overall health of this population. The com-plications of untreated type 2 diabetes can be fatal, with heart disease, stroke, hypertension, blindness, kidney disease, and amputation among the more serious problems (NDIC, 2011). As a future family nurse practitioner, I will treat hundreds of adults and even children with type 2 di-abetes or at risk for it, and knowing the most successful interventions is foundational to being able to provide the best care to this patient population.

Diabetes is a serious medical condition that affects millions of people every year. Although both type 1 and type 2 diabetes have similarities, distinctions can be found in the symptoms, preventative methods and hyperglycaemic levels. Symptoms regarding type 1 diabetes tend to surface between infancy and adolescence, whereas symptoms for type 2 diabetes may only be revealed through diagnosis. In the past this disease has primarily been discovered in adulthood, but an increasing trend in the number of children being diagnosed has altered this perspective.Preventative procedures also differentiate both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Extensive research conducted on type 1 has revealed to healthcare providers that prevention is not possible by any

In today’s world, parents have an abundance of worries when it comes to their children. Drugs, bad grades, and pre marital sex are just some things that may plague a parent with sleepless nights. But even on the worst of those nights of worry, most parents can’t imagine that their child could face an illness. Not just a runny nose or seasonal flu, but an illness that would affect their child throughout his or her entire life. Diabetes is a disease without a cure, and one that more, and more children have to live with.