Steady Increase in the Incidence of Diabetes - Coursework Example

Environmental Studies: Diabetes Diabetes Introduction The last decade has seen a steady increase in the incidence of non-communicable health conditions such as coronary related complications, cancer and diabetes. Researchers have argued that the ten-year duration is too little for changes in genetic composition to take place, thereby ruling out the fact that genome organization could be the reason behind the high incidence of non-communicable diseases. Though studies have not been concluded, most surveys that have been carried out and written in various scientific journals have often revealed that the complete change of lifestyle, which the current generation has embraced, might be the primary cause of the high incidence. In handling this project, I am going to provide more insight on Diabetes, thereby analyzing its significance in the United States and across various regions of the globe. Background of Diabetes Diabetes Mellitus, usually stated as Diabetes, is a long-term health condition, characterized by high glucose level in the victim’s blood. Diabetes can be brought about by two scenarios, the first being the failure of the cells of islet of langerhans to produce insulin. In some instances, however, the islet cells produce insulin, but other metabolic cells of the body fail to make use of this insulin due to incompatibility. Diabetes is characterized by frequent urination, continuous hunger as well as increasing level of thirst (Harris, 1998). Patients who suffer from diabetes are also likely to suffer from persistent fatigue as well as weight loss and even weight gain in some situations. In the advanced stages of Diabetes, those who suffer from it are highly susceptible to coronary related complications such as heart failure, as well as sexual dysfunction across both genders. Significance in the United States According to the latest input from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), 29.1 million of the total American population suffers from diabetes. This translates to 9.3% of the American population, and is an increase from the last assessment, in which 8.3%, which translates to 25.8 million of the American population were found to be suffering from Diabetes. The prevalence of Diabetes among the senior American population is higher as compared to any other age group (American Diabetes Association, 2014). This is because, 25.9% of those who are above sixty-five years in age in America suffer from Diabetes. In as much as the number of those who suffer from diabetes within the United States remain considerably high, the latest input from the ADA points to the fact that the incidence of Diabetes has slightly gone down by a value of 200000 citizens from 1.9 million during the last assessment to 1.7 million. That notwithstanding, the value of prediabetes remains to be a point of concern. This majorly because, about 86 million people have at one point registered abnormal blood glucose level. 0.25% of the American youth population, which translates to roughly 208000, suffers from diabetes. In terms of race and ethnic background, the ADA reports that the American Indians are the most affected by diabetes. This is because about 15.9% of them suffer from diabetes. The African Americans, who have about 13.2% of them suffering from diabetes, follow them. The ADA similarly reports that 12.8% of Hispanics within America suffer from diabetes, as well as 9.0% of the Asian American population and 7.6% of the non-Hispanic whites (American Diabetes Association, 2014). The American government and population, through various avenues spent $245 billion in the diagnosis of diabetes and about $176 billion on direct medication. On top of that, the ADA reports that $69 billion was lost due to diabetes in the form of diabetes patients who were away from their workstations to seek medication. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. In 2010, for example, 69071 American citizens lost their lives due to diabetes. It is also pointed out that 234051 American citizens lost their lives through diabetes-related complications such as kidney disease, heart attack and stroke, among others (American Diabetes Association, 2014). According to Input from the International Diabetes Federation, the global diabetes epidemic is on the rise and is getting worse. This is because diabetes patients lose their lives daily and at an alarming rate. The latest report states that about 4.6 million people lost their lives due to diabetes worldwide in the year 2010. The UN Summit on non-communicable diseases reported that countries such as Japan, Norway, Denmark and the United Kingdom have a low morbidity rate of diabetes. Implying that they are in the A category of countries when it comes to maintenance and management of diabetes. The summit noted that nations like the United States, France, Ireland and Canada had considerable high morbidity rates of diabetes (American Diabetes Association, 2014). Though their rates were much higher compared to other European and Western nations. The summit noted that Africa, along with most of the developing nations are the worst affected by diabetes morbidity. This is contributed by late diagnosis, lack of proper medication and poor diabetes management. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that currently, 366 million individuals in the world suffer from diabetes. Similarly, it warns that if the ideal management strategies are not embraced, the figure is likely to increase to 550 million citizens by the year 2030 (American Diabetes Association, 2014). This matter should definitely be considered as a matter of urgency because ten years ago when about 177 million of the world populations were suffering from diabetes, the body said that the figure would increase to 300 million in 2010, and the figure has doubled since then. Variations in Incidence of Diabetes Roughly about 85% to about 95% of the cases of diabetes being diagnosed in high-income nations are type 2 diabetes. As I mentioned in the introducing paragraph, the incidence of diabetes has been steadily increasing, a situation that has resulted in the globe staring at a potential global diabetes epidemic. In some instances, diabetes takes place due to the genome organization of the individual (Cowie et.al, 2002). This happens when an individual inherits a gene that is not has been mutated, or one that has its regulating sequences transposed from one gen locus to another. The high incidence of type 2 diabetes can also be attributed to the age of an individual, notably because those who are aged are highly susceptible to diabetes as compared to the young segment of the population. Stakeholders have also stated the fact that the high incidence of diabetes can also be brought about by the increasing cases of obesity. It is this relationship that has brought about the aspect of diabesity, which was coined after it was established that many obese persons also suffer from diabetes. Change in lifestyle has also resulted to an increase in the incidence of diabetes. The American Diabetes Association, holds the opinion that physical activities in the form of continuous exercises and healthy eating, play a role in delaying the occurrence of diabetes in any individual who is considered to be highly susceptible to diabetes. The two organizations have also argued that reducing levels of stress as well as not indulging in behaviors such as cigar smoking and too much alcohol consumption can also play a role in reducing the occurrence of diabetes or even delaying its emergence. The World Health Organization, reports that in as much as we diabetes occurs in almost all regions of the world, individuals who reside in certain areas, or those of certain races, or ethnic lines can be highly susceptible to diabetes than others. Persons of African descent for example, as well as those of Hispanic origin, are deemed highly susceptible to diabetes as compared to those of purely European or American origin. The same applies to people of Asian origin, notably those from the South Asian region. In as much as that is always the case, health experts have been drawn aback by the trend that has been witnessed recently whereby even children of young age are diagnosed with diabetes (Hu, 2011). This growing incidence of diabetes type 2 in children is worrying because such children will be forced to go through challenging periods in their lives, and that given the earlier diagnosis, they may go through deep suffering if they are not provided with the ideal management strategies. Role of Healthy Diet in Diabetes prevention and Management As mentioned above, the high incidence of diabetes being witnessed within various parts of the globe currently has been blamed on the way of life that has been embraced by this generation. This conclusion came, after researchers acceded to the fact that the duration within which the occurrence of diabetes sharply rose, is not enough time for the genome organization of a generation to change. Various surveys particularly took interest in the incidence of diabetes witnessed within the Western nations, and that witnessed within nations of the Mediterranean region such as Turkey. It has been realized that the incidence of diabetes within the Western nations is considerably high while the rate of occurrence of diabetes within nations of the Mediterranean region is considerable low (Hu, 2011). The survey even pointed out the Western nations spend a significant part of their budget in the treating and taking care of their citizens with diabetes. Similarly, their citizens spend a lot of their income in helping their relatives manage diabetes. This contradicts the Mediterranean region where the nations do not spend a lot of money in managing diabetes, because its incidence is low. The survey carried out by the World Health Organization and was reported during the UN summit on non-communicable diseases, attributed the low incidence of diabetes within the Mediterranean region to the Mediterranean diet. The survey revealed that the Mediterranean diet is aimed at ensuring that the body becomes its doctor, by providing it with the appropriate nutrients that it require. The pyramid based Mediterranean diet is founded on eating fruits, vegetables and foods rich in fiber; this should always be taken during each meal. The diet also encourages the consumption of seafood while it discourages people from consuming too much sugary items such as cakes frequently. Consuming many fruits, vegetables and fiber rich foods reduce the risk that is associated with heart diseases including heart attack and stroke. Similarly, it reduces the risk associated with certain cancers, obesity as well as type 2 diabetes. The consumption of fruits and vegetables are also important in that they are rich in potassium and these results in controlling blood pressure. The foods also reduce the amount of blood cholesterol, while at the same time providing folic acid, necessary for the production of new red blood cells within the circulatory system. Concisely, the survey pointed to the fact that nutrition is of great significance in the prevention of diabetes as well as complications that come with it. It is, therefore, far-reaching for the global population to find a way of merging the modern treatment modes with proper nutrition. The World Health Organization in association with the Departments of Health of various countries carried out the above-discussed survey. The findings of the survey were true, and confirmed the importance of a healthy lifestyle, as outlined in the diabetic diet, suggested by the American Diabetic Association. Nevertheless, as is the case with other studies data interpretation issues such as interviewer bias, and their ability to recall must have arisen in the course of the survey (American Diabetes Association, 2014). The survey however, did not raise sampling issues as the findings were reported based on the real situation on the ground across the respective nations. It is true that knowledge gap exists; as a large part of the global population is not aware of the role of nutrition prevention and management of diabetes. In an attempt to address the above-mentioned knowledge gap and asses both the external and internal validity, I would embrace the randomized block experimental design. In going about the design, I would select Calhoun County in Alabama, due to the fact that it is one of the regions in the United Sates where the prevalence rate of diabetes is higher than the national level. As is always the case, I would brief the would be participants on the significance of the experiment. I would perform the survey with a manageable number of participants, notably five hundred people from the county. In as much as only willing participants would be selected for the experiment, I would ensure that both males and females have equal representation. Given that diabetes affects people across all the age groups, I would make an attempt of ensuring that the age group of my participants is evenly spread, precisely sixteen to seventy years of age. As is the case with many other surveys, I would divide the participants into two groups, each having two hundred and fifty members. The first group would be encouraged to strictly follow the Mediterranean diet, and take part in recommended physical exercises. The second group would not be subjected to the Mediterranean diet, but would be encouraged to carry on with their normal lifestyles. At the end of the experiment, I would carry out statistical analysis in both blocks. Internal validity would be assessed by going through the results, thereby determining if there was any major difference between both blocks, in terms of incidence of diabetes as well as the rate at which the participants suffered from both diabetes related complications. External validity would only be assessed once internal validity had been determined. In case a considerable difference is registered, then it would be true to say that nutrition plays a role in preventing and managing diabetes. On the other hand, the result would be declared invalid, if no significant difference is observed. Prevention, Treatment and Management of Diabetes Prevention has been celebrated to be better than cure, and as discussed above, diabetes can be prevented by embracing a healthy way of life. This should include a diet that is founded on healthy foods such as the Mediterranean diet as well as exercising continuously, as that helps in controlling sugar level (Khan and Davidson, 2011). Alcohol should also be avoided as its consumption contributes to hypoglycemia. We have the advancement in technology to thank for bringing about efficient mechanisms of treating diabetes. Apart from the administration of adequate doses of insulin based on the sugar level, diabetes can also be treated surgically, by carrying out a transplant of either the islet cells or the entire pancreas. The surgical methods have been lauded majorly because they ensure that the patient does not suffer from hyperglycemic episodes. References American Diabetes Association. (2014, July). Retrieved from American Diabetes Association Website: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/ Cowie, et.al. (2002). Prevalence of Diabetes and Impaired Fasting Glucose in Adults in the U.S. Population. New York: American Diabetes Association. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/29/6/1263.short Harris, M. (1998). Prevalence of Diabetes, Impaired Fasting. Diabetes Care. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/21/4/518.full.pdf+html Hu, F. B. (2011). Globalization of Diabetes: The Role of Diet, Lifestyle and Genes. Diabetes Care. http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/34/6/1249.full Khan R, Davidson M. (2014, April). The Reality of Type 2 Diabetes Prevention. Retrieved from American Diabetes Association Website: http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/37/4/943.full.pdf+html Read More