According to Healthy People 2020 (2017), DM tends to occur when the body fails to produce sufficient insulin or fails to respond effectively to insulin. Insulin is responsible for the release of sugar required to energize the body’s cells. Therefore, when the insulin signaling system is affected, the body suffers from elevated levels of blood glucose, leading to metabolic abnormalities. Healthy People 2020 (2017) identifies three types of DM as expounded below:
Type 1 Diabetes- This condition is commonly found in children and young adults. Affected individuals experience extremely high blood sugar levels as a result of the loss of the body’s ability to produce insulin.
Type 2 Diabetes- This condition results from a combination of insufficient insulin production and the body’s resistance to insulin in the body.
Gestational Diabetes- As the name suggests, this condition tends to affect women during their pregnancy. This condition tends to place both the mother and the child at the risk. In some instances, upon birth, the child advances on to develop type 2 diabetes.
Statistics
Despite the prominence and associated complications of the illness, a large segment of the American population remains undiagnosed. According to Healthy People 2020 (2017), approximately 28% of Americans remain undiagnosed. Furthermore, more than 86 million Americans adults are at a potentially great risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the coming years.
Healthy People 2020 (2017) approximates the total number of individuals in the United States affected by the illness to be 29.1 million people. This makes it the seventh cause of death in the country. Individuals diagnosed with diabetes tend to be at risk compared to those who have not been diagnosed in the following fronts:
Mortality rate- Diagnosed individuals tend to have a higher mortality rate (1.8) than undiagnosed people.
Heart attack- Diagnosed individuals are approximately 1.8 times of succumbing to a heart attack compared to undiagnosed individuals.
Body complications- Diagnosed individuals are also susceptible to various body complications such as lower body amputations, kidney failure, and adult-onset blindness.
Apart from the human costs indicated above, in terms of financial costs, approximately $245 billion is spent on healthcare in terms of medical costs, disability, or premature death.
Health Disparities
According to American Diabetes Association (2016), health disparities refer to the inequalities experienced in healthcare. Certain racial and ethnic groups have limited access to quality healthcare compared to the majority groups. The situation is no different when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. According to American Diabetes Association (2016)), certain communities are severely impacted by diabetes, and also, unfortunately, do not receive in equal measure, adequate treatment, research, and education in regards to diabetes. The affected communities include Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders, and Native Hawaiians.
Lopez and Golden (2014)indicate that Latino adults of 20 years and above have a higher prevalence rate compared to Non-Hispanic Whites. Social, cultural, and economic factors are responsible for the difference in prevalence rates among different ethnic groups, hence the health disparities. According to Lopez and Golden (2014), an intervention measure that can be adopted to reduce the prevalence rate, is the integration of the health system, the patient, and health providers. Furthermore, increasing the availability and accessibility of health information will substantially increase health literacy among the affected groups, hence embrace various measures with an aim of leading healthy lives.
Prevention Strategies
According to Yang, Chang, Li, Nammi, and Cho (2014), diabetes is an incurable illness and one that involves lifelong treatment. However, Yang et al. (2014) explain that the use of oral antidiabetic agents commonly used in orthodox medicine, is not enough to keep the illness at bay, and in fact, has resulted in undesirable side effects and unmet efficacy. For this reason, Contemporary and Alternative treatments have gained popularity owing to the positive and beneficial results associated with the various prevention strategies embraced in diabetes management.
The World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that approximately 80% of individuals around the globe have adopted CAM treatments in their primary care therapy (Yang et al., 2014). Stevelos (2016) indicate that Western diets, which normally comprise of processed grains, salt, sweetened beverages, meat, and dairy, are responsible for lifestyle illnesses, including diabetes. For this reason, various intervention measures that include embracing plant-based diets and drinking more water have been proposed to deal with the epidemic diabetes has become in the American society.
One CAM treatment proposed by Stevelos (2016) is Ayurveda. This Indian treatment system aims at ensuring a proper balance of the mind and the body. This is different compared to conventional medicine that aims to treat symptoms of the illness. In regards to diabetes, the Ayurveda system recognizes that it is caused by unhealthy meals. Therefore, this treatment plan advocates for the adoption of various meal plans such as certain soups, that help the body regain its balance. Another CAM treatment is the use of dietary supplements. These include chromium, Alpha-Lipoic Acid (ALA) and herbal treatments (Stevelos, 2016).
Research and Clinical Studies
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (2016), the focus of clinical studies in diabetes is based on human studies across the lifespan. This is based on the need to understand the prevention and treatment interventions for diabetes. This usually involves the use of clinical trials that focus on behavioral, pharmacologic, practice or surgical level approaches.
Furthermore, research and clinical studies also involve epidemiologic studies, which seek to understand the pathogenesis and natural history of diabetes. In addition, these studies are focused on the development of efficient diagnostic criteria. In addition, research is also being carried out with an aim of reducing health disparities in terms of race and ethnicity in the country.
Effects of Stress
According to Falco, Pirro, Castellano, Anfossi, Boretta, and Gianotti (2015), stress refers to a complex phenomenon that consists of responses considered nonspecific that often take place in certain situations. This situation is exhibited by the two main body reactions in response to stressful situations, fight or flight.
Falco et al. (2015) indicate that stress is one of the main triggers of an increase in the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D). This situation is characterized by the stress reaction accompanied by unhealthy lifestyles and diets, neglect of one’s physical well-being, and use of food in a consoling manner. These trends increase the risk of one developing diabetes.
Stress Management Interventions
Miedziun and Czabala (2015) explain coping in respect to stress management as cognitive and behavioral efforts focused on the mastering of both internal and external expectations caused by aggravation and exceeding of one’s resources. In other words, coping refers to measures an individual can take to deal with the stressful situation.
In this regard, Miedziun and Czabala (2015) proposes various stress coping techniques, such as physical activity, replacement gratification, which includes positive activities such as reading, swimming, or taking up of other hobbies, distancing, which involves staying away from the problem through sleeping, joking about the problem, or fantasizing. According Miedziun and Czabala (2015), other techniques are supported, which involves seeking help from specialists, solving the underlying problems, and adjusting emotions and tension.
References
American Diabetes Association (2016). Health disparities. Retrieved from http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy/advocacy-priorities/health-disparities.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/?referrer=http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy/advocacy-priorities/health-disparities.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
Falco, G., Pirro, P., Castellano, E., Anfossi, M., Boretta, G., & Gianotti, L. (2015). The relationship between stress and diabetes mellitus. Journal of Neurology and Psychology. Vol. 3, No. 1.
Healthy People 2020 (2017). Diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/diabetes
Lopez, L. & Golden, S. (2014). A new era in understanding diabetes disparities among US Latinos- All are not equal. Diabetes Care. Vol. 37.
Miedziun, P. & Czabala, J. (2015). Stress management techniques. Archives of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy. Vol. 4.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (2016). Clinical research in type 2 diabetes. Retrieved from https://www.niddk.nih.gov/research-funding/research-programs/Pages/clinical-research-type-2-diabetes.aspx
Stevelos, J. (2016). Alternative and complementary therapies for diabetes. Diabetes Self-Management. Retrieved from https://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/managing-diabetes/treatment-approaches/alternative-complementary-therapies-diabetes/
Yang, W., Chang, C., Li, C., Nammi, S., & Cho, W. (2014). Complementary and alternative medicine for diabetes. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Vol. 2015.
