Diabetes

Diabetes Diabetes is a disease in which the body doesn't use or properly make insulin and therefore causes blood sugar levels to be high. Insulin is a hormone that the body needs to break down sugar, starches and certain other foods into energy to help you function throughout the day. Much about Diabetes remains a mystery but we know that certain factors like genetics, obesity and lack of activity and exercise play a key role in the development of the disease. It is estimated that 7.8% (23.6 million people) of the American population has Diabetes and another 56 million people have pre-Diabetes. There are different types of Diabetes. Type 1 Diabetes occurs when your body stops making insulin. Type 1 Diabetes is primarily the cause of Diabetes in children and young adults. This type of Diabetes is thought to be related to a disorder of your body's pancreas to make insulin. This type of Diabetes needs to be closely managed by a health care professional. Type 1 Diabetes accounts for 5-10% of all cases of this disease. The most commonly diagnosed type of Diabetes is Type 2 Diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is related to insulin resistance combined with insulin deficiency. Insulin resistance is a condition which results from your body's failure to appropriately use the insulin that it makes so unfortunately, your body isn't frequently making enough insulin to keep up with your energy needs. Most Americans diagnosed with the disease have Type 2 Diabetes (95%). Again, researchers don't specifically know what causes Type 2 Diabetes but they do know risk factors that attribute to developing the disease. The most important risk factors include:

• Being overweight
• Being over 30
• Being African American, Hispanic or American Indian
• Giving birth to a baby over 9 pounds
• Having a family member with Diabetes
• Blood pressure readings 130/90 or higher
• Having high cholesterol

There is also a condition known as pre-Diabetes. This is when a person's blood sugar levels are higher than average but not high enough to be diagnosed with Diabetes. This is a likely precursor to Diabetes and causes health risks as well. Regardless of what type of Diabetes a person may have, the end result is that not enough sugar is getting into your body's cells to be used as an energy source throughout the day and too much sugar is circulating in your blood. When the sugar lingers in your blood, it causes a possible "traffic jam" in your circulatory system (blood vessels) and other organs of your body. With the extra sugar in your blood, symptoms may occur. The most common symptoms of Diabetes are frequent urination, excessive thirst, unexplained weight loss, irritability, fatigue, blurred vision and possibly recurrent or persistent infections (especially wound infections). If undiagnosed and uncontrolled, the end result of this disease is risk for heart disease, kidney disease, eye problems, skin problems, nerve problems, circulation issues and persistent or uncontrolled infections. Often, Diabetes goes undiagnosed because the symptoms seem harmless and even silent but studies suggest that the sooner the disease is diagnosed, the lower the risk of developing complications that occur because of the high blood sugars. There are several blood tests used to diagnose Diabetes. The most common test is known as a fasting blood glucose (sugar) level. A person with a fasting blood sugar of 100 to 125 signals pre-Diabetes. If a fasting blood sugar is above 125, they are given a diagnosis of Diabetes. Your health care provider may do additional tests if your blood sugar is above this level. Frequently, adults with Diabetes have other health issues like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. When these medical conditions are combined with Diabetes, they can lead to serious life threatening health issues. With uncontrolled Diabetes, heart attacks can occur earlier in life and may be fatal. By managing Diabetes, your overall risk of heart disease is lessened. Our goal at Family Medicine Associates is prevention. All Americans need to be more aware of their risks for this potentially life threatening chronic illness. Prevention needs to start at a very young age. Recent studies suggest that there is an obesity epidemic in our country and that childhood obesity is on a dramatic upward climb. If a child is overweight or obese, their long term risk for developing Diabetes is much greater and their risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes as an adolescent and young adult is now a reality. Establishing guiding principles for ourselves and our families and children will help to foster a healthy lifestyle focused on prevention of this disease. Some simple goals of prevention for both children and adults include:

• Increasing physical activity and exercise and decrease sedentary activity (T.V., video games, etc.)
• Improving diet quality by following the food guide pyramid and include appropriate portions. Discourage "Super Sizing"
• Limiting sweetened beverages including soft drinks, fruit juices, sports and energy drinks
• Weight management and stress reduction
• Increase family meal times together to improve nutrition and communication

For more information regarding Diabetes, please contact your FMA health care provider.