Introduction
Type II diabetes mellitus affects millions of people across the globe. It is a serious condition that involves the knowledge and collaboration of a multidisciplinary care team. Knowing the pathophysiology of the disease, diagnoses, treatment, and proper patient education is essential for managing type II diabetes and achieving wellness. The nurse’s role is to understand the effects of type II diabetes, convey this understanding to their patients, and teach the patients proper behaviors for effective disease management.
Disease Condition
Etiology
Diabetes affects 29.1 million people in the United States. It is estimated that 8 million people are undiagnosed. Type II diabetes is the most common form, affecting 90-95% of the
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The pancreas functions as an exocrine and endocrine gland. The function of the exocrine gland aids with digestion in the small intestine. The endocrine component is made up of islets of Langerhans. These secrete hormones insulin and glucogon which regulates blood glucose concentration (Saladin, 2012, pp. 650-651).
Each islet is composed of alpha, beta, and delta cells. Alpha cells release the hormone glucogon (Ali, 2011, pp. 9-10). Glucogon changes the stored glycogen to glucose that is within the liver (Venes, 2013, p. 1031). Beta cells release insulin (Ali, 2011, pp. 9-10). Insulin is secreted when the glucose levels are elevated. It will stimulate cells to take up glucose, promote the storage of glucose in the liver and muscles and promote the storage of fat (Irland, 2011). Delta cells produce somatostatin which functions as a hormone inhibitor (Venes, 2013, p.
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Insulin resistance is the inability of the cells to use insulin. This causes an increase in blood glucose (Ali, 2011, p. 8). The pancreas will continue to release insulin in an effort to lower the glucose level. As more insulin is released, more fat is being stored. Increased amounts of fat build up in arteries causing plaque. This plaque can lead to further complications such as hypertension and emboli. The liver will then release more glucose in response to the increased level of insulin. As a result, the blood sugar continues to rise and the pancreas becomes exhausted. Impaired insulin secretion also results in increased blood glucose. This is due to beta cells in the pancreas not producing an adequate amount of insulin to regulate glucose levels (Irland,
It secretes insulin and produces enzymes needed for digestion, which are secreted into the gut or small intestine (American Heritage: Student Science Dictionary 253). There is one hormone in the pancreas (How Sweet is it! Measuring Glucose in Your Food). A pancreas is located directly behind the abdomen. The average pancreas is about 6-10 inches (Medical News Today). A hormone is a substance produced in one part of the body, especially in an endocrine gland, that has an effect on another part of the body, which it is usually carried in the blood stream. Hormones regularly many biological processes, including growth and metabolism (American Heritage: Student Science Dictionary 169). Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas that acts to regulate the amount of sugar in the blood by causing cells especially liver and muscle cells, to absorb glucose from the blood stream (American Heritage: Student Science Dictionary 182). It helps breaking down carbohydrates in the body. It is made of many beta cells that after responses when blood sugar rises (Medical News Today). Insulin helps the liver absorb glucose just in case the body needs energy when stressed or exercising (Ray). This hormone helps the level of glucose in the blood stream (How Sweet is it! Measuring Glucose in Your
When the blood glucose levels rise above the optimum, the pancreas detects this, and sends a metabolic signal for the pancreas to produce insulin in the beta cells. The beta cells are a part of a cluster of cells called the Islets of Langerhan. The hormone insulin is made here because the pancreas is a part of the endocrine system. (4) Insulin helps our cells convert glucose into energy, and it helps our bodies store extra glucose for use later. Insulin does this by turning the extra food into larger packages of glucose called glycogen. Glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles. When the body consumes food the pancreas will produce more insulin than normal as more is needed, and less insulin when it is not needed as much. (7)
This essay will discuss the nurse’s role in giving holistic care to patients and their family members and also promoting a healthy life style. It will give a brief description of the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes and its impact on individual and their family across their lifespan. In addition the determinate factors that plays a major role, with increasing the risk of an individual to become type 2 diabetics will be addressed. A conclusion will follow summarizing with aids, especially form the governing body for nurses which advocates their role, contribution and the professional responsibilities to individual’s with type 2 diabetes and their family members/careers according to (NMC, 2008).
Diabetes occur when there is a combination of inadequate secretion of insulin by the pancreatic beta cells and the peripheral insulin resistance. Insulin resistance leads to a reduced glucose transport into the muscle cells, increases both hepatic glucose production and breaking down of fats because it has been attributed to the elevated level of free fatty acids and proinflamatory cytokines in the plasma.1
Diabetes mellitus has a worldwide prevalence of 8.3 percent of the population with the amount of new cases diagnosed per year
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”.)
For the year 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that, 29.1 million people in the united states had diabetes, and of those 21.0 million people were diagnosed and 8.1 million people were undiagnosed (2014). The number of people that have the disease can be used to illustrate the major impact the disease has on society. The disease can affect an individual directly through personal diagnosis. When family member is diagnosed with type II diabetes, it can indirectly affect their close relatives by the increased risk that they may one day be diagnosed with the disease because of genetics. The fact that 8.1 million people were undiagnosed in 2012 should be very concerning for both healthcare providers and society (CDC, 2014). The proper management and compliance is very important with type II diabetes and cannot be initiated until a diagnosis is made. When the disease is uncontrolled other complications can occur. This creates a negative effect on society due to the deficit that exist. Whether the actual impact the disease has on society is positive or negative can be related to whether the disease is properly diagnosed and managed accordingly. Although type II diabetes is a part of society working to try to prevent the disease and timely diagnose the disease is a positive impact diabetes has on society. Increase education about the signs and symptoms of the disease and screenings could aid in the early diagnosis of the disease. Earlier diagnosis can aid in better prognosis of the
The organs involved include the liver, muscle, fat cells, liver, alpha and beta cells of the pancreas, GI tract, kidney, and brain. While the liver and muscle ideally increase glucose uptake in the fed state when insulin levels are high, with type 2 diabetes this is impaired. To further exacerbate the hyperglycemic condition, the liver not only fails to properly exhibit glucose uptake, but it actually over produces more glucose and thereby creates a cycle of glucose accumulation and further production. While this is occurring in the muscle and liver, fat cells have accelerated lipolysis. The lipolysis results in an increase in plasma free fatty acids (FFAs), which then in-turn impairs both first and second phase insulin secretion and can lead to excess fat deposition in the liver and muscle, contributing further to impaired insulin production. At the GI tract, gastric inhibitory polypeptide becomes resistant and loss of GLP-1 occurs. With impaired GLP-1, insulin resistance is again further enabled and hyperglycemia can become more profound. This occurs because glucagon suppression from the pancreatic alpha cells post meal does not occur as it would under normal circumstances, thereby enabling even more hepatic glucose production. While theories are not completely conclusive, insulin resistance in the hypothalamus may contribute to excess intake thereby contributing to additional glucose in the circulation. Finally, the kidney also plays a role in glucose dysregulation as it increases glucose reabsorption. All of these discussed mechanisms ultimately contribute to hyperglycemia and chronic hyperglycemia itself contributes to impaired beta cell function (DeFronzo,
There are many people in the United States who have diabetes but do not know it. According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly 25.8 million people are living with the disease (American Diabetes Association, 2011), and
Type 2 diabetes is a very well known disease throughout the US. There are about 27 million people in the US with the disease and 86 million others have prediabetes which means their blood glucose is not right but also not high enough to be diabetes yet. 208,000 people under the age of twenty have been diagnosed with either Type 1 or 2 Diabetes.
An organ called the pancreas makes insulin. The role of insulin is to move glucose from the bloodstream into muscle, fat, and liver cells, where it can be used as fuel.
ptors and The pancreas is the organ responsible for the maintenance of blood glucose levels. The pancreas is the biggest gland in the body and part of the endocrine system responsible for the production of hormones. Hormones coordinate many body processes and circulate in the blood searching for hormone receptors. Since the pancreas secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream, islets of langerhans are situated very close to capillaries in the liver so there is a short diffusion distance. Cells are unresponsive to a hormone if they lack the appropriate receptors. When insulin binds to its specialised receptor protein, it changes the shape of the intracellular portion of the receptors. This activates enzymatic activity causing glucose transporters,
Beta cells are cells that are found in the islets of Langerhans. The islets of Langerhans are clustered areas in the pancreas containing hormone producing cells. These cells make up about sixty to eighty percent of all cells found in these islets. They regulate blood glucose levels in the body by the processes of producing, storing, and releasing insulin (Cnop, M. et al, 2005). The production of insulin in beta cells is an important process in the body. Insulin is a small protein created in order to correctly fold
Glucagon is a hormone found in the pancreas. Alpha cells in the islets of Langerhans make it. This hormone works together with insulin to control glucose in the body. Whenever the body requires more glucose, glucagon is released to lead many processes that create the sugar needed. These processes consist of encouraging amino acids to change into glucose and the liver to break down glycogen into glucose. The hormone can also create fatty acids from stored fat to fuel the cells. In order to keep the body functioning properly, glucagon must maintain good blood sugar levels in the body.
The pancreas is a digestive organ that lies below the stomach, it is mostly made up of exocrine and endocrine tissues. The exocrine parts form sacs known as Acini, which connect to ducts with empty into the first part of the intestine (The duodenum). Smaller parts of the exocrine glands are dispersed all throughout the pancreas which are known as islets of Langerhans (Anon, Unknown).