Diabetes In Black Children Research Paper

The health disparities among the Blacks/African American is on the rise which is of being mostly affected by diabetes the United States and Maryland. Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are connected which can lead to increase mortality among this population. In that matter, the Health Empowerment African Americans Diabetes Program proposal includes my creating awareness which will offer diabetes education as connected to other commodities and self-management and counseling. This will be done through outreach programs in the community in health classes and health fairs through health screening, blood glucose screening, A1C, exercise activities, body mass index (BMI), weight, monitoring of individual self-monitor log, and

Diabetes  is a serious health condition that is a chronic illness for the African Americans. Diabetes preventions strategies in African American community can be a tricky task to contain and prevent for several reasons I will discuss in this paper.

With over 30 million people having diabetes, the prevalence is continuing to rise. An estimated 200,000 American youth are effected by type 1 diabetes and 40,000 new cases are diagnosed each year¹. The rate for type 1 diabetes in youth has increased by 1.8% each year. In comparison, the prevalence for type 2 diabetes in youth has increased at a rate of 4.8% annually². No matter whether diabetes is type 1 or type 2 in children, family involvement is essential for optimal outcomes³.

According to the United States Library of Medicine, diabetes is a disease that occurs when the body does not make or use insulin correctly, therefore causing fluctuating amounts of glucose in the blood. Diabetes is a disease that affects millions of adults and children from various cultures. According to the American Diabetes Association (2014), someone is diagnosed with diabetes every 19 seconds. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention most recent statistical report indicated there were 29.1 million adults and children affected by diabetes. Those numbers are astounding. Unfortunately, the American Diabetes Association (2014) estimates by year of 2050, one out of three adults will have diabetes. Therefore, it is imperative that adults take aggressive measures to prevent this disease. By the same token, diabetes diagnosed in children and adolescent is becoming more prevalent every day. The American Diabetes Association (2014) reported there were about 216, 00 children in the United States with diabetes. It is predicted that one out three children will be diagnosed with diabetes in their life. The statistics for both adults and children with diabetes are frightening; however, early detection can help lower the risk of developing the debilitating effects of diabetes.

There are nearly 30 million people living with diabetes in the U.S. African Americans are disproportionately affected by diabetes, with 13.2% having been diagnosed with diabetes, compared to 7.6% of non-Hispanic whites. They are also at an increased risk for serious complications of diabetes, which include blindness, kidney disease and amputations. Although the risk for complications can’t be eliminated, good control of diabetes has been shown to reduce those risks.

To best explain what diabetes is I chose an article to help me best explain called “The effects of diabetes on the body” written by Ann Pietrangelo. Did you know that diabetes affects your body in 19 ways? Diabetes is a malfunction of the pancreas if it produces too much or too little insulin they both affect the body negatively. An insulin that is not used by your body is stored as fat than converted to energy. If a high amount of sugar left in your body not use is toxic to your body it can form acids called Kenton bodies that help developed

In the US type 2 diabetes is a major medical problem affecting all ethnic backgrounds and needs to be addressed. The pre-diabetic and diabetic population is steadily increasing every year despite medical advancements. Unfortunately, the African American population is at a disadvantage when it comes to diabetes. Preventing medical complications related to diabetes, initiating health promotion programs, increasing healthy lifestyle behaviors will essentially lead to a decrease risk of complications secondary to diabetes and overall improve patient

Helen Keller once said, “All the world is full of suffering. It is also full of overcoming.” Throughout life each person will face obstacles, but will only be defined by how they overcome or fail. In today’s society health and wellness has become such a challenge. Many things in our environment, social status, financial position, and culture can affect what we eat and our health status. Families in many countries are facing new onset of diseases and disorders, in which modern medicine now has the ability to combat to prolong good quality of life. Through research and education, families are now being able to understand juvenile diabetes. As a result, children are being able to live more normal lives.

"The facts are clear: The diabetes epidemic sweeping the U.S. is hitting the African American community particularly hard, according to doctors." (2) Diabetes is defined as, "A disease that affects the body's ability to produce or respond to insulin, a hormone that allows blood glucose (blood sugar) to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy." (1) There are two types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, which usually begins during childhood or adolescence, "Is a condition characterized by high blood glucose levels caused by total lack of insulin. This occurs when the body's immune system attacks the insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas

Another health issue that African Americans struggle with is diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that involves the body producing high levels of blood glucose levels (Powers, Dodd & Noland, 2006). There are two types of diabetes; type 1 and type 2. Type 1 is known as the juvenile onset diabetes and caused by a lack of insulin production and secretion while type 2 is characterized by deficiency of insulin production, decreased production of insulin and increased insulin production and can usually be controlled by diet and exercise (Smeltzer & Bare, 2003). African Americans are twice as likely to

Diabetes pertains to a group of illnesses that is characterized by an unusually increased amount of glucose in the blood of the person. Because of this, the person experiences problems in the shortage of insulin. This disease can result to significant complications that can even kill the person who has this condition. However, the good news is that diabetic people can be able to do certain measures to make sure that they are able to manage this disease and reduce the possibility that more complications would emerge. Diabetes is actually one of the primary causes of mortality and incapacity in America, and the overall expenses connected to the treatment of this disease is estimated to around the $200 billion every year. This paper will discuss the urban health problem of diabetes among African Americans.

There are three different types of diabetes that affect African Americans. The first is Type 1 diabetes, which runs in the history of the family (Baptiste-Roberts, 2007). This is brought on by a breaking

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics, "[By 1993] death certificates listed diabetes as the fifth leading cause of death for Blacks aged 45 to 64, and the third leading cause of death for those aged 65 and older in 1990.” (Bailey, 2007). These statistics show how serious the problem of diabetes has become in the black community. Epidemiological studies can focus the efforts of the healthcare community to effective interventions aimed at lowering the prevalence and incidence of diabetes among African Americans.

What was once thought to be found only among adults has become one of the most common chronic diseases among children in the United States. Ordinarily, when diabetes strikes during childhood it is assumed to be type 1. The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Study began in 2000 and has provided the most comprehensive estimates of the prevalence and incidence of type 2 diabetes among youth less than 20 years of age in the US (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reports that annually, an estimated 18,436 youth are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and 5,089 youth are diagnosed with type 2 among youth. In the last two decades, type 2 diabetes, has been reported among U.S. children and adolescents with increasing frequency. Disease researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made the prediction that one in three children born in the United States in 2000 will likely develop type 2 diabetes sometime in their lifetime unless they get more exercise and improve their diets, particularly for Latino children (CDC, 2014). Without changes in diet and exercise, their odds of developing diabetes as they grow older was about 50-50.

      Each individual is unique. No man is an island. It doesn’t mean that we have a disorder or disease; we would be different from other people.