Downs Syndrome, Moderate Intellectual Disability, and Type 2 Diabetes - Essay Example

DOWNS SYNDROME, MODERATE INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY, AND TYPE TWO DIABETES Student name: Institution: Date: Introduction Downs Syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is among the most chronic diseases in the world today. The disease occurs in 1 out of every 1000 births. The chances of the getting children with disease increase with the maternal age. However, some cases of Downs Syndrome have also been reported in children born to mothers of typical childbearing age. Downs Syndrome comes with various health complications including diabetes and mental illnesses. Health Challenges One of the health challenges that the 48 year old man is likely to experience due to Downs Syndrome, moderate intellectual disability and type 2 diabetes is sensory loss especially sight and hearing. Downs Syndrome causes early cataracts and keratoconus causing clouding of the eye and distortion of vision respectively. Additionally, Downs Syndrome causes loss of hearing as the patients commonly have small ear canals that can frequently have wax impactions causing loss of hearing if not detected early. Another health challenge that the man is likely to experience is cardiac diseases. Both downs syndrome and diabetes result in heart problems. People with downs syndrome commonly have congenital heart disease, which causes high blood pressure in the lungs leading to inability of the heart to pump blood effectively (In Rickert-Sperling et al, 2016). Furthermore, reduced oxygen in the blood caused by downs syndrome can result in cyanosis. Type 2 diabetes, correspondingly, causes atherosclerosis. This is the strengthening and narrowing of the arteries caused by the accumulation of fat and cholesterol on the arteries lining, forming plaques. These interfere with the flow of blood to vital body organs and can cause heart attack or stroke. The other health challenge that is likely to be experienced by the man is depression. Depression refers to a feeling of hopelessness and rejection. This may be triggered by life struggles, loss of friends and family members or even change of environment. Depression causes withdrawal and is common in downs syndrome patients. Other mental health problems that are likely to be experienced by the man include; aggression, short concentration span, low self-confidence and difficulty in making friends (In Sperry, 2016). International Classification of Function and Disability The International Classification of Function, Disability and Health is a basis for organizing and recording information on functioning and disability. According to the ICF, functioning refers to the interaction between a person’s health, the environmental and personal factors. It uses standard language for the definition and measurement of disability while at the same time providing classification and codes. The framework recognizes both the role of environmental factors and social factors in contributing to disability. With reference to the ICF, participation is defined as the involvement in life situations while activity is well-defined as the implementation of a task by an individual (WHO, 2013). Activity and participation, therefore, refer to the functional status of an individual such as communication, self-care, application of knowledge, learning mobility and interpersonal relations. Participation and activity is an important component of the ICF since it is used as a measure of the functionality of individuals. Measuring participation and activity of individuals is important in determining their well-being at different stages in life because of the difference in the nature and settings of life situations. As an individual grows, life situations change. This is commonly from parental care to schooling and peer relationships and even adulthood. Activities and participation is used in the educational sector for instance to identify students with disabilities. This is mainly because the education sector involves a lot of activities such as sitting in the classroom, interacting with peers and teachers and learning from the teachers. The activities that people engage in are influenced by both personal and environmental factors. However, activity and participation differ throughout the lifespan of an individual. Participation and activity reduce an individual grows. Hence children are more active than adults. As people transform from children to adults, life situations change, depending on the environment and the inherent genetic characteristics of individuals. Mobility and intellectual capabilities also reduce with age resulting in reduced activity and participation. Management Strategy Type 2 diabetes mainly results from high glucose levels in the blood caused by inability of the body to produce enough insulin. Type 2 diabetes causes a variety of complications in patients eventually resulting in death. This calls for early detection and management of the disease to prevent its negative outcomes on an individual (Barnett, 2012). Several medical interventions exist for management of diabetes. These help in preventing the negative outcomes of diabetes through the administration of drugs. However, diabetes can also be managed through non-medical interventions. One of the ways of managing type 2 diabetes through non-medical intervention is lifestyle modification. Lifestyle modification involves abandoning the long term habits a person had, especially with regards to feeding and physical activity and maintaining a new behavior for a long period of time. For the effective management of type 2 diabetes, community nurses can develop lifestyle modification programs with patient-centered approach. The programs can either be individualized with goals depending on what the patients desire to achieve or a group program involving health professionals where all the patients desire to achieve a structured objective (RACGP, 2014). One lifestyle modification intervention that can be used in the management of type 2 diabetes in the 48 year old patient is physical activity. Regular physical activity is important for diabetes patients as it reduces the risks of heart diseases and also improves metabolic control. Increased physical activity also helps the patients in improving glucose tolerance, energy expenditure, and lipid profiles. Additionally, physical activity such as aerobic training helps the patients to increase their heart rates. To help the patients in the management of diabetes through physical activity, it is important to develop a timetable for physical activity with the help of the group home. A daily routine physical exercise for a minimum of 30 minutes can help the diabetes patients in the group home to manage their condition. Another important lifestyle intervention for the management of diabetes is dietary assessment. Most of the burden of type 2 diabetes is caused by the types of food that the patients eat. Type 2 diabetes is mainly associated with eating energy dense and nutrient poor foods. The management of type 2 diabetes in the patient and other patients in the group home requires a change in diet. With the staff support at the group home, the community nurse will ensure that the diet is altered to include; plenty of vegetables, grains with high fiber varieties such as barley and oats, milk and milk products. The diet should, however, not contain foods high in saturated fat and sweetened soft drinks. Additionally, diet assessment for the patient can include meal planning. These may include a high fiber and a low carbohydrate food during each meal. These types of foods include legumes, whole grains, low added sugar breakfast cereals and temperate fruits. Other carbohydrates can also be added to the diet but in very low quantities. Another dietary intervention for the patient would be the Mediterranean diet. This is because it is considered as one of the healthiest diets in the world and is associated with low mortality and morbidity of most chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease associated with type 2 diabetes. The other way of managing type 2 diabetes in the patient is weight management. Weight gain and obesity in individuals is often caused by long periods of energy imbalances in the body (LeRoith, 2012). This is associated with poor diet and lack of physical activity as well as environmental and genetic factors. Loss of weight results in improved glycemic control, blood pressure and lipid profiles. Studies show that a sustained weight reduction of 5kilograms is associated with a reduction in HbAc1 of between 0.5 to 1%. To ensure effective weight management of the patient, it is important for the community nurse to ensure that the patient takes different foods in amounts appropriate for energy requirements of the body. The community nurse can also control type 2 diabetes in the patient by ensuring that the patient ceases smoking and drinking alcohol. Smoking, for instance, is associated with an increased risk for diabetes. Smoking negatively affects glycaemic control, hence may smokers with diabetes require more doses of insulin compared to those that do not smoke. Alcohol use is correspondingly associated with increased chances of the type 2 diabetes. Alcohol is known to lower the blood sugar levels as well as adding hidden calories in the body thus causing overweight. As the community nurse managing the 48 year old patient, it would be prudent to give advice to the patient to stop smoking and drinking alcohol. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is evident that type 2 diabetes, downs syndrome and moderate intellectual disability are among the major chronic diseases affecting the world’s population. However, these conditions can be managed and the patients’ life expectancies increased. It is, therefore, important for the nurses working with such patients to develop efficient patient management programs to help them in managing their conditions for them to live longer. References Barnett, A. H. (2012). Type 2 diabetes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. In Rickert-Sperling, S., In Kelly, R. G., & In Driscoll, D. J. (2016). Congenital heart diseases: The broken heart: clinical features, human genetics and molecular pathways. In Sperry, L. (2016). Mental health and mental disorders: An encyclopedia of conditions, treatments, and well-being. LeRoith, D. (2012). Prevention of type 2 diabetes: From science to therapy. New York: Springer. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and Diabetes (2014). General Practice for the Management of Type 2 Diabetes. Melbourne, Australia. World Health Organization (2013). A Practical Manual for Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Exposure Draft for Comment. Geneva, Switzerland. Read More