Gerontologic Considerations of Diabetes Mellitus

Public health emphasizes the importance of prevention and proactively taking care of one’s body. As people grow older, they must follow certain guidelines to ensure that they age healthily and successfully. One of the biggest concerns facing the aging population is chronic diseases. Chronic diseases are long term diseases that have a slow progression. Once chronic diseases pass “certain symptomatic or diagnostic thresholds,” they become a permanent aspect of an individual’s life because “medical and personal regimens can sometimes control but can rarely cure them” (Albert and Freeman 105). One chronic condition that is a cause of concern is diabetes. Diabetes is not only one of the leading causes of death in the over 65 population but

The American Diabetes Association (2004) defines diabetes as a subset of metabolic diseases associated with hyperglycemia secondary to insulin failing to release, act, or both. Complications related to chronic diabetes can be detrimental to one’s health including but not limited to: heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, amputations, blindness, and other optical diseases. Furthermore, the prevalence of diabetes is rising at an astronomical rate within the United States as well as internationally. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2016) an estimated 29 million people suffer with diabetes and 86 million are prediabetic within the United States (US). Without major interventions from the healthcare community,

Uncontrolled diabetes can affect nearly every organ of the body; of which, heart disease and kidney failure are most commonly impacted. Known as diabetes mellitus, a collective term for various blood abnormalities, the term diabetes refers to either a scarcity of insulin in the body or the body’s inability to accept insulin. Though the symptoms of diabetes are manageable, many are unaware as to having it. According to the CDC report “2011 Diabetes Fact Sheet,” approximately 6 million people in the United States have undiagnosed diabetes. Undetected, diabetes can become deadly. In a recent World Health Organization report “Diabetes Action Now: An Initiative of the World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation,” it

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a pandemic that affects millions of people. The growth rate of unrecognized pre-diabetes in America is expected to rise up to 52% by 2020 (Lorenzo, 2013). As the prevalence of diabetes increases, so will the complications and burden of the disease. One of the leading causes for cardiovascular disease, renal failure, nontraumatic lower limb amputations, stroke, and new cases of blindness is DM (Lorenzo, 2013).

Did you know diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States? (Fukunaga, 2011). Many are unaware approximately 25.8 million American’s, 8.3% of the population suffer from diabetes. Type II Diabetes Mellitus (DM II) is by far the most prevalent and accounts for 90-95 percent of the 25.8 million diabetic patients. The long term complications of DM II make it a devastating disease. It is the leading cause of adult blindness, end-stage kidney disease, and non-traumatic lower limb amputation (Lewis, Dirksen, Heitkemper, & Bucher 2014, p. 1154). Not only is diabetes debilitating to patients but also the health and employment costs are substantial. According to Fukunaga (2011), “The estimated national cost of diabetes exceeds

I have been naïve to an epidemic that has been plaguing America for quite some time now. It wasn’t talked about or taught much when I was younger. I thought that this disease was for the geriatric population. In 2012, 29.1 million Americans were diagnosed with diabetes. 8.1 million went undiagnosed. (diabetes.org) Diabetes is a dilemma and the statistics for this disease is rising steadily. Per the diabetes association there are 1.4 million of new cases of diabetes a year. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the united states of America. Diabetes is not affecting only one group of people. Diabetes.org states that 208,000 Americans under the age of 20 have been diagnosed with diabetes. In 2014 I started a new job at a call center. Prior to this occupation I had never personally, that I knew of interacted closely with anyone suffering from this disease. I had never heard of the younger population developing this illness and I certainly never heard any first-hand accounts on how diabetes affected the body. I discovered just how prevalent diabetes were in young adults. I watched people between the ages of 20-27 be afflicted by this disease. They had to constantly watch their diet to ensure that their blood glucose wasn’t either too high or too low. I watched a 20-year-old female be in and out of the hospital because of this disease. I hope to inform this reader of the dangers of this disease and what to do to prevent it.

Diabetes mellitus has a worldwide prevalence of 8.3 percent of the population with the amount of new cases diagnosed per year

The risks of diabetes, especially in seniors, are serious. In addition to the direct complication of elevated blood sugar, diabetes can lead

In the United States People 65 years or older has diabetes, and the aging in general population is significant for diabetes become epidemic, diabetes not limited to impact the elderly from working also has the highest mortality rate. In addition elderly with diabetes has hither risk for chronic heart disease and kidney disease (Sure Kirkman, 2012). The number of cases of diabetes type 2 in the United States increase with the increase of age. In 2007 and 2008 national survey data showed “diabetes was 18% higher among Asian Americans, 66% higher among Hispanics, and 77% higher

Diabetes mellitus (DM) exists in 29.1 million people, or 9.3% of the United States population, and of these 29.1 million people, 65% will die from a form of heart disease. DM adds incremental risk to the development or subsequent exacerbation of heart failure; this holds true even after adjustment of common risk factors such as ischemic heart disease and hypertension. Furthermore, the prevalence of heart failure in patients with DM is between 10% and 22%; this is four times higher than the general population.

Elderly diabetics often have medical, socioeconomic, or environmental factors that impact on their Diabetes. The standard treatments for Diabetes-diet control, exercise, and pharmacologic therapy- may be complicated in the elderly by several factors that are more prevalent in this age-group than in younger

A study conducted by floch, Doucet, Bauduceau& Verny (2014), explains that retinopathy, nephropathy, peripheral neuropathy has a great association with geriatric scale scores. According to the study, retinopathy was must common among diabetic population. Also, study explains that incidence of

Diabetes is a major problem in our society today. Many people have heard about the disease; however, they do not know too much about its complications. Diabetes is a chronic, progressive and lifelong condition that affects the body’s ability to use the energy found in food (WebMD, 2016). Many new cases are confirmed every year and unfortunately, many go undiagnosed for years. Diabetes is a serious disease and need to be taking seriously. The disease can lead to many other health problems such as blindness, nerve damage and kidney diseases. The more the community understand and made aware of the seriousness of the disease, the better it can be control and or prevented.

Some age-related complications that affect the treatment of DM type II include but are not limited to comorbid conditions, polypharmacy, renal insufficiency, increased fall risk, visual impairment, and cognitive impairment (Fravel, 2011). The purpose of this research is to grasp a better understanding of diabetes management for the older adult population and to determine if lifestyle modifications versus pharmacological management are more sufficient for this population in their management of care. Lifestyle modifications and pharmacological management options will be assessed and studied for pros and cons for this disease as well as the easement of management and compliance for this particular population. The

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder resulting in hyperglycemia (high blood glucose level), and its characteristic signs and symptoms are polydipsia, polyphagia, and polyuria. In most cases, the contributory factors include pancreatic disorder or destruction of the beta cells of the Langerhans affecting insulin production. However, globally 592 million people are expected to be diagnosed with DM by 2035 which is about 53% increase (Bone, 2015). Actually, the four different types of DM are Type 1 DM (formally known as insulin dependent), Type 2 DM (formally known as non-insulin dependent), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and secondary DM caused by hormonal abnormalities and pancreatic diseases (Arcangelo & Peterson, 2013). Proper management of the diabetes include early detection, understanding the signs and symptoms and treat the patient accordingly to control the blood glucose level, since there is no cure for the disease. In addition, complications such as amputation and organ damage are prevented, as well as preventing untimely death.