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Diabetes
Diabetes Mellitus is another serious and all too common
medical disease in our society today. While the name is often shortened to
simply diabetes or DM, the list of problems that it causes is very long indeed.
Simple stated, DM is an inability of the body to maintain a balanced amount of
sugar in the blood.
If blood sugar is too low, the body is in a state of
hypoglycemia and immediate effects are often felt. The early symptoms
include feeling lightheaded, dizzy, fatigued, nauseous, with difficulty
concentrating and visual disturbances. If left untreated, a person can loose
consciousness, go into a coma state or even die. These symptoms are usually
treated easily with a small amount of food or juice and rapid death from
hypoglycemia is not common.
A more common problem is hyperglycemia, which is
when there is too much sugar in the blood. Some immediate problems can occur
with this disturbance as well. Problems of frequent urination, dehydration and
recurrent infections are possible effect of too high of blood sugar levels.
But the real problem of diabetes is the long term effects
that occur when the blood sugar dis-regulation is not recognized or not treated
adequately. When left untreated numerous serious, and many fatal, conditions
develop. Some of the most serious are kidney failure, blindness, and poor
circulation in the legs and arms that may lead to infection or even amputation.
Adult onset (Type-II) diabetes
mellitus is strongly associated with obesity and inactivity. There are
studies that show that in the early stages Type-II diabetes can be cured by diet
and exercise alone. The increasing rates of diabetes are surely related to
the increasing prevalence of obesity in the general population.
The disease of diabetes and the complication that follow
are not rare.
Click Here for
details about rising rates of obesity.
The following information is from the CDC’s website:
Prevalence of diabetes
Total: 17.0 million people — 6.2% of the population — have diabetes.
Diagnosed: 11.1 million people
Undiagnosed: 5.9 million people
Prevalence of diabetes among people under 20 years of age
About 151,000 people less than 20 years of age have diabetes. This represents
0.19% of all people in this age group.
Approximately one in every 400-500 children and adolescents has type 1
diabetes.
Clinic-based reports and regional studies indicate that type 2 diabetes is
becoming more common among American Indian, African American, and
Hispanic/Latino children and adolescents.
Prevalence of diabetes among people aged 20 years or older
Age 20 years or older: 16.9 million. 8.6% of all people in this age
group have diabetes.
Age 65 years or older: 7.0 million. 20.1% of all people in this age
group have diabetes.
Men: 7.8 million. 8.3% of all men have diabetes.
Women: 9.1 million. 8.9% of all women have diabetes.
Deaths among people with diabetes
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In 1999, approximately 450,000 deaths occurred among
people with diabetes aged 25 years and older. This figure represents about 19%
of all deaths in the
United States in people
aged 25 years and older.
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Overall, the risk for death among people with diabetes
is about 2 times that of people without diabetes. However, the increased risk
associated with diabetes is greater for younger people (that is, 3.6 times for
people aged 25-44 years versus 1.5 for those aged 65-74 years) and women (that
is, 2.7 times for women aged 45-64 years versus 2.0 for men in that age
group).
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Diabetes was the sixth leading cause of death listed
on U.S.
death certificates in 1999. This is based on the 68,399 death certificates in
which diabetes was listed as the underlying cause of death. Diabetes was
listed as a contributing cause of death on an additional 141,265 death
certificates. However, many decedents with diabetes do not have the disease
entered on their death certificate; only about 35% to 40% have it listed
anywhere on the certificate and only about 10% to 15% have it listed as the
underlying cause of death.
 Complications
of diabetes
Heart disease
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Heart disease is the leading cause of diabetes-related
deaths. Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times
higher than adults without diabetes.
Stroke
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The risk for stroke is 2 to 4 times higher among
people with diabetes.
High blood pressure
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About 73% of adults with diabetes have blood pressure
greater than or equal to 130/80 mm Hg or use prescription medications for
hypertension.
Blindness
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Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of
blindness among adults aged 20-74 years old.
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Diabetic retinopathy causes from 12,000 to 24,000 new
cases of blindness each year.
Kidney disease
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Diabetes is the leading cause of treated end-stage
renal disease, accounting for 43% of new cases.
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In 1999, 38,160 people with diabetes began treatment
for end-stage renal disease.
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In 1999, a total of 114,478 people with diabetes
underwent dialysis or kidney transplantation.
Nervous system disease
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About 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have mild to
severe forms of nervous system damage. The results of such damage include
impaired sensation or pain in the feet or hands, slowed digestion of food in
the stomach, carpal tunnel syndrome, and other nerve problems.
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Severe forms of diabetic nerve disease are a major
contributing cause of lower-extremity amputations.
Amputations
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More than 60% of nontraumatic lower-limb amputations
in the United States
occur among people with diabetes.
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From 1997 to 1999, about 82,000 nontraumatic
lower-limb amputations were performed each year among people with diabetes.
Dental disease
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Periodontal or gum diseases are more common among
people with diabetes than among people without diabetes. Among young adults,
those with diabetes are often at twice the risk of those without diabetes.
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Almost one third of people with diabetes have severe
periodontal diseases with loss of attachment of the gums to the teeth
measuring 5 millimeters or more.
Complications of pregnancy
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Poorly controlled diabetes before conception and
during the first trimester of pregnancy can cause major birth defects in 5% to
10% of pregnancies and spontaneous abortions in 15% to 20% of pregnancies.
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Poorly controlled diabetes during the second and third
trimesters of pregnancy can result in excessively large babies, posing a risk
to the mother and the child.
Other complications
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Uncontrolled diabetes often leads to biochemical
imbalances that can cause acute life-threatening events, such as diabetic
ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar (nonketotic) coma.
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People with diabetes are more susceptible to many
other illnesses and, once they acquire these illnesses, often have worse
prognoses than people without diabetes. For example, they are more likely to
die with pneumonia or influenza than people who do not have diabetes.
Cost
of diabetes in the United States
Total (direct and indirect): $98 billion
Direct medical costs: $44 billion
Indirect costs: $54 billion (disability, work loss, premature
mortality)
These data are based on an American Diabetes Association
study and are 1997 estimates of both the direct costs (cost of medical care and
services) and indirect costs (cost of short-term and permanent disability, and
premature death) attributable to diabetes itself. This study is a
cost-of-disease study and estimates of the health care costs that are due
specifically to diabetes.
Click Here for
details about rising rates of obesity.
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