preview

Type 2 Diabetes Research Paper

Decent Essays

The effects of diabetes are nothing less than devastating. It is a disease that is affected by interdependent genetic, social, economic, cultural, and historic factors (CDC, 2011a). In the United States, nearly 26 million Americans are living with diabetes, and another 79 million Americans have prediabetes (CDC, 2011a). Diabetes has been associated with reducing the quality of life of people with the disease, and it also has a tremendous economic burden on our health care system. In 2007, diabetes and its complication accounted for $218 billion in direct and indirect costs in 2007 alone (Dall, et al., 2010).
Racial and ethnic minorities, such as Hispanics or Latinos, black or African Americans, and Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and other …show more content…

population, has diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is now being recognized as a worldwide epidemic. The disease affects 9.3% of all Americans and 12.3% of those aged 20 years or older. Outstandingly, an estimated 8.1 million Americans with diabetes are undiagnosed. Worldwide, more than 220 million people have diabetes (WHO, 2011). Undiagnosed type 2 diabetes is thought to be common around the world; it is estimated that half of the cases remain undiagnosed (Burant & Young, 2012).
Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2010 (CDC, 2014). Furthermore, diabetes may be underreported as a cause of death. Studies have reported that only about 35-40% of who diagnosed with diabetes had diabetes listed on their death certificate and about 10-15% had it listed as an underlying cause of death . It also proves to be fatal due in part to the development of other complications or conditions. Complications include, nerve disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, periodontal (gum) disease, hearing loss, erectile dysfunction, depression, and complications of pregnancy and many others. People with diabetes have higher rates of death due to cardiovascular disease and higher rates of hospitalization for heart attacks and stroke. Diabetes is a leading cause of kidney failure, retinopathy, and nontraumatic lower limb amputations (CDC, …show more content…

Diabetes has also proven to be costly when it comes to treatment. In 2012, the total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States amounted to $245 billion, including $176 billion for direct medical costs and $69 billion for indirect costs (e.g., disability, work loss, premature death). After adjusting for population, age, and sex differences, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes (CDC,

Get Access