How Does Poverty Affect Diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease where the body is unable to produce or use insulin effectively. Insulin is needed for proper storage and use of carbohydrates. Without it, blood sugar levels can become too high or too low, resulting in a diabetic emergency. It affects about 7.8% of the population. The incidence of diabetes is known to increase with age. It’s the leading cause of end-stage renal disease in the US, and is the primary cause of blindness and foot and leg amputation. It is known to cause neuropathy in up to 70% of diabetic patients. Individuals with diabetes are twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease. There are two types of diabetes: Type 1 and Type 2.

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,

According to the American Diabetes Association, more Americans die each year from diabetes than from AIDS and breast cancer combined. As a result, researchers have extensively studied the causes, treatments, and interventions for diabetes. Despite efforts to ameliorate its effects, diabetes remains a prevalent danger in society. In 2014, 7% of U.S. adults were living with diagnosed diabetes (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016). In Louisiana that number was even higher - 10.4% of adults have been diagnosed with diabetes. Breaking it down by age group, however, in Louisiana 3% of people aged 18 and 44 have been diagnosed, and 15.2% of people 45-64. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015a). Several studies have predicted future rates of diabetes both in the United States and worldwide - nearly all of these studies reached a similar conclusion: rates of diabetes will continue to rise (Boyle et al., 2001).

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

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

With diabetes there are certain ethical and cultural aspects that have shown to increase an individual’s chances of developing the chronic disease. The ethic considerations to consider in relation to diabetes is that black and Hispanic ethnicities have a higher incidence rate of contracting the disease compared to those of the Caucasian ethnicity. These considerations do not directly correlate with the prevalence of diabetes in Kingfisher, because most of the population in this area is primarily white citizens (2014). The characteristics of the people in Kingfisher that do contribute to a need include its high incidence of drop out rates, and only 17.7% of the population obtains a bachelors degree (2015). When taking these numbers into consideration, it can be assumed that there is need for education about ways to live a healthier lifestyle in the

The study discussed an important topic concerning the role of poverty in causing disparities in regards to diabetes care and incidence. The report referenced various studies conducted by various entities regarding this topic. The existing research supports the findings from this study. The article used findings from existing research literature to support its claim and explain that poverty in fact contributes to an increase in diabetes cases, and that poor people in countries with universal health care systems may still face difficulties receiving necessary diabetic care. Therefore, poverty creates disparities in diabetic care and may lead to increased incidence of diabetes among poor people as opposed to the remainder of the population (Hsu et al., 2012).

Nobel Prize winner Dr. Fredrick Banning once said, “Insulin is not a cure for diabetes; it is a treatment. It enables the diabetic to burn sufficient carbohydrates so that proteins and fats may be added to the diet in sufficient quantities to provide energy for the economic burdens of life”(Banning, 1928). The American Diabetes Association (ADA), states that 9.3% of the population has diabetes, which is why it was the 7th leading cause of death in the Unites States in 2010. The Center for Control Disease (CDC), states individuals younger than 20 years were newly diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes annually (CDC, 2010). Physicians often instruct patients affected by Type 2 diabetics, to watch their diet and sustain a healthy, more active lifestyle.

Geography as a physical factor contributed to the Marshallese' population being prone to having diabetes. As mentioned earlier, prior to WWII, the Marshallese' main staple were the products of the land and the surrounding ocean. Following WWII and after the U.S. detonated several atomic (nuclear) bombs on the islands, the land and the surrounding ocean products became unsuitable for consumptions for many decades to come. The U.S. government shipped in processed food that were easy to prepare resulting in the change in the population's diet and making them dependent on imported processed goods. More often, these processed products are high in sodium, sugar, and fat, most of which contributes to diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. According

Type 2 Diabetes is the most common form of diabetes in adults. It accounts for approximately 90%-95% of diagnosed diabetes in adults in the United States (cdc.gov, n.d.). Newly diagnose cases of diabetes tripled from 1980-2011 in the United States. It is a costly and deadly disease. Because there are many comorbidities and complications associated with uncontrolled diabetes, it is essential to treat diabetes effectively. Clinicians deal with this ongoing problem on a daily basis. Therefore, new treatment options are needed. Diabetes can be treated and managed by regular physical activity, healthy eating, and by decreasing cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as high lipid levels, high to decrease blood glucose levels are important aspects of disease management. At this time, there are 14 classes of medications currently available to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus, however, only 36 % of the patients achieve glycemic control on their present medications. Also, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes continues to increase which escalates the medical cost to treat the disease. In 2012, the estimates cost of type 2 diabetes was $176 billion. The cost to treat this disease is going to continue to rise. Even though there are drugs available to treat type 2 diabetes, new treatment options with different mechanisms of action are needed to improve patient outcome through better glycemic control (Miller, Nguyen, Jia-Haur, Chihyi, & Nguyen, 2014).

Diabetes is a disease rapidly increasing throughout the world today, and it is often referred to as the world’s modern epidemic. According to The World Health Organization (WHO) there were 171 million people suffering from diabetes worldwide in 2000. They are expecting this number to be doubled by year 2050 with 366 million diagnosed people. The organization’s most recent “calculations indicate that worldwide almost 3 million deaths per year are attributable to diabetes” (World Health Organization). It is clear that diabetes is a huge problem in the world, and a research called “The burden of Mortality Attributable to Diabetes: Realistic estimates for the year 2000”

How diabetes is supposed to be managed is one of the biggest questions even today. Not many diabetics truly know how to manage their diabetes.Some people do not realize that most of the things that a diabetic needs to do to stay healthy is similar to what non diabetics do to stay healthy. Staying healthy is also one of the biggest things that helps controlling diabetes. When a diabetic in healthy their blood sugar and A1C tend to be in the normal range for their age.

Diabetes is a complex metabolic disease that I was diagnosed with over 10 years ago. It would have been nice to know that diabetes would be my new best friend and I would have to become an expert on all the medications, challenges and statistics. A difficult lesson to learn is that well controlled diabetes will allow you to live a relatively normal life, and poorly controlled diabetes leads to complications and serious health risks. Poor control of diabetes is a very common statistic. You feel like your body is failing you, and diabetes takes over your life and your health. The biggest challenge that no one is prepared for with a diagnosis of diabetes is how it makes you feel both physically and emotionally. I have Type I adult onset diabetes that is poorly controlled and it makes me feel unhealthy, dependent, and out of control.

Diabetes is associated with obesity, physical inactivity, race and other socioeconomic covariates (Hipp & Chalise, 2015). There is a steady increase in type 2 diabetes prevalence especially in adolescents and African Americans (Arslanian, 2000; Arslanian, Bacha, Saad, & Gungor, 2005; Harris, 2001).

Diabetes is a systemic disease caused by a decrease in the secretion of insulin or reduced sensitivity or responsiveness to insulin by target tissue. (Beale, et al., 2011) The incidence of diabetes is growing rapidly in the United States and worldwide. An estimated 347 million people around the world are afflicted with diabetes. (Whalen, et al., 2012) According to World Health Organization (WHO), Diabetes prevalence among adults over 18 years of age has risen from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014. It is the major cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and limbic amputation. World Health Organization (WHO) projects that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death in 2030. It is a complex and costly disease that can affect nearly every organ in the body and result in devastating consequences. The leading cause of non-traumatic lower extremity amputations, renal failure, and blindness in working-age adults, diabetes is also a major cause of premature mortality, stroke, cardiovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, congenital malformations, perinatal mortality, and disability. (Cefalu, 2000) Insulin therapy and oral hypoglycemic agents have demonstrated improvement in glycaemic control. However, Insulin therapy has some disadvantages such as ineffectiveness following oral administration, short shelf life, of the need for constant refrigeration, and fatal hypoglycaemia, in the event of excess dosage.