Introduction
Diabetes which is medically referred to as diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that occurs due to the lack of production or action of insulin in the body. Insulin is a hormone that enables blood sugar in form of glucose to generate energy in the body. It is a lifelong condition that results from high sugar levels in the body. Diabetes is rapidly becoming a global concern and the United States is also feeling the pinch of the disease in its population. The condition is becoming a national epidemic so rapidly that currently it is considered the sixth cause of death in the United States.
Medical Terminology
Diabetes Mellitus: Scientific term used to refer to Diabetes.
Metabolic Function: Chemical reactions responsible for maintaining normal body functions.
Insulin: It is a hormone responsible for metabolism. It promotes the absorption of glucose.
Hormone: A chemical substance that controls and coordinates activities in the body.
Deficiencies: Lack of something such as nutrients in the body.
Glucose: The main type of sugar in human bodies.
Gestational Diabetes: Type of diabetes that affects women during the gestation period.
Type 1 Diabetes: Results from the body’s inability to produce insulin.
Type 2 Diabetes: This Causes the blood sugar levels in an individual’s body to rise much higher than normal.
Cholesterol: Type of lipid in organic value.
Infant Mortality: Rate of deaths of infants.
Life Expectancy: A measure of the time a person is expected to live.
Oral Medication: Medications that are taken orally.
Diagnosis: A process of determining which disease a person has contracted.
Condition: An abnormal state of health that interferes with the normal functioning of the body.
Complications: Negative consequences of a disease or condition.
Prevention: Decreasing the burden of disease.
Administer: Give medication.
Re absorption: Process in which water is reinstated into the blood circulation.
Resistance: A disease or disease-causing microorganism not responding to medication.
Lipid: A micro-biomolecule that is non-soluble.
Undiagnosed: Unable to detect or not detected.
Nausea: Being in a state of dizziness.
Fatigue: A state of general body weakness.
Infection: Invasion of the body by a microorganism.
Background
Studies done by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) found that diabetes has not only cost the American population its health but also it’s economy. An approximated 174 billion dollars is used in treating diabetes according to a report by the American Diabetes Association in 2007 (Hendrikus, 2017). Recent statistics by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that this figure has grown up to an estimated 245 billion dollars annually in terms of the cost of treating diabetes in the United States. The CDC also estimates that 23.1 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes in the United States and about 7.2 million have diabetes but remain undiagnosed (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National diabetes statistics report, 2017).
Causes
Medically Diabetes is used collectively to refer to several diseases inhibiting characteristics such as increased levels of blood sugar in the body. Some of the causes are linked to the increased levels of glucose may include deficiencies in both the production and action of insulin (Moulder and Lahesmaa, 2016). A significant number of diabetes may have both abnormalities in the production and the action of insulin (Hendrikus, 2017). Insulin is tasked with converting blood glucose to a form of carbohydrate referred to as glycogen which can be stored in the body. An abnormality in either the production or action of insulin, therefore, leads to high blood glucose levels in the body.
Types of Diabetes
The most common types of diabetes include type 1 and type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes. The latter is the most prevalent in women especially during pregnancy as it causes high blood sugar levels in both the pregnant woman and the baby. The chances of women with a history of gestational diabetes developing type 2 diabetes in the future are quite high. This type of diabetes is common in minority populations in the United States where most women cannot afford to access health services (Hendrikus, 2017). Type 1 diabetes, on the other hand, results from the body’s inability to produce insulin. A patient suffering from type 1 diabetes, therefore, relies on routine insulin injections so as the body is supplied with the lacking insulin.
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes diagnosed in many patients. Statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have also indicated this type of diabetes as the most prevalent in the United States (Misra and Hattersley, 2016). Type 2 diabetes causes the blood sugar levels in an individual’s body to rise much higher than normal. It causes insulin resistance which means that body would not be able to utilize insulin to support the high blood glucose levels (Moulder and Lahesmaa, 2016). The results of the lack of proper use of the insulin in the body is a probable strain on the pancreas due to overworking that may lead to its destruction therefore most people with this form of diabetes use direct insulin injections. More than 95% of the people diagnosed with diabetes in the United States have type 2 diabetes. It is prevalent among adults through a worrying trend of children being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has been growing in the recent past (Hendrikus, 2017). Some of the commonly known causes of type 2 diabetes include excess body fat, high blood pressure or cholesterol, a history of gestational diabetes, and having a close family member with the condition.
Symptoms
Some of the common symptoms associated with diabetes include nausea and increased fatigue, skin, vaginal, and bladder infections (Kim, 2019). One of the most notable symptoms that can be observed in the early stages of diabetes is increased thirst as well as the increased tendency to produce urine. Tests on diabetes patients have also confirmed the presence of glucose in the patient’s urine which is often linked with high levels of blood glucose which then spills over into the urine (Misra and Hattersley, 2016). This causes the kidneys to be overworked as it involves increased water re-absorption which in turn leads to high levels of production of urine resulting in thirst.
Treatment
Intensive treatment of glucose, close monitoring of lipid levels and blood pressure in individuals with diabetes minimize the risk of developing diabetes. The therapeutic intervention also could help reduce the complications related to diabetes. Patients with type 2 diabetes can prevent diabetes-related complications by applying relevant lifestyle changes as well as taking oral medication (Kim, 2019). These lifestyle interventions may include a change of diet and regular exercises to ensure the loss of excessive fats and weight. Early effective management of the disease can reduce diabetes-related complications and increase the life expectancy of individuals with diabetes (Wong, 2014). Unfortunately, diagnosis in most patients is done when it is too late to administer any effective treatment or prevention.
Despite huge investment in healthcare, the United States still lags behind compared to other developed counties in terms of health matters such as infant mortality and life expectancy which are key factors in determining the success or failure of healthcare systems in a country. Although it performs relatively better in terms of delivery of diabetes care, the United States needs to focus on the delivery of diabetes care to the minority populations and the aging who studies by both the America Diabetes Association (ADA) and the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have linked with most cases of diabetes in the country.
In conclusion, diabetes remains among the top ten leading causes of death hence measures to reverse its effects on populations have to be initiated by both the stakeholders in healthcare and the government. There is also a need to create awareness about the disease, its prevention, and treatment as studies have revealed that more than half of all diabetes cases are undiagnosed.
References
Hendrikus, Hulst. 2017. “Diabetes Mellitus and Perioperative Glucose Control: Not One, but Two Types of Diabetes.” International Journal of Diabetes, (4), 5-16.
Kim, Nam. 2019. “Diabetes Mellitus, Still Major Threat to Mortality from Various Causes.” Diabetes & Metabolism Journal, 43 (3): 273-275.
Misra, Shivani, and Hattersley Andrew. 2016. “Monogenic Causes of Diabetes.” Diabetes & Metabolism Journal, 11 (13): 241-261.
Moulder, Robert, and Lahesmaa Riitta. 2016. “Early Signs of Disease in Type 1 Diabetes.” Pediatric Diabetes, 17 (12): 43-48.
Wong, Vincent. 2014. “Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: Where Are We at?” International Journal of Diabetes & Clinical Diagnosis, 1 (1): 1-4.