Diabetes among the indigenous of Australia - Case Study Example

Diabetes among the indigenous of Australia Institution Name Date Introduction Diabetes is a chronic disease associated with high glucose levels in the blood because the body produces no insulin or too little, or when the insulin produced cannot be used properly. If this goes on for a long time, various body parts risk being damaged. Some of the body parts that may be damaged include the heart, blood vessels, kidneys, eyes, and nerves. These complications can result in mental problems, premature deaths, and a reduction in the individual’s quality of life. The other impact of having high blood sugar can be on the unborn child when the mother is suffering from diabetes. It is because of diabetes that there is a health gap of about 12% between the non-indigenous and the indigenous Australians. Again, in Australia, the rates of diabetes are higher among the indigenous as compared to the non-indigenous Australians. These numbers are the same for people in all the socio-economic groups. Diabetes is in two forms including types 1 and 2. In Australia, the most common type of diabetes is type 2, and that is in the 85% of the people suffering from diabetes. For the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginals, diabetes type 2 is the most common. This is especially seen in individuals that eat poor diets, are physically inactive, and are overweight. In this essay, there will be an analysis of diabetes among the indigenous of Australia including the reason why the group is affected by the disease. Risk factors Health risk factors can be defined as the characteristics, behaviors, and exposures that include one's likelihood to develop a disease. The risk of getting diabetes and especially type 2 include biomedical and behavioral factors. The risk factors include high blood pressure, smoking tobacco, high blood cholesterol, poor diet, physical inactivity, as well as being overweight. In Australia, the Torres Islander and Aboriginal people are at a greater risk of diabetes as compared to the non-indigenous Australians. At the same time, those that have diabetes are associated with multiple risk factors as well as other health problems. When an individual is involved with multiple risk factors, they get a heightened likelihood to develop complications and other diseases. When it comes to the medical and self-reported data concerning the prevalence of the selected risks between the Torres Strait Islander and the Aboriginal people, the cause and effect are not attributable to the chronic conditions and risk factors. This is according to the data that was present at the time the survey was being done between 2012 and 2013 by the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health survey (AATSIHS). The high prevalence of some of the risk factors among the indigenous Australians was attributed to the high diabetes prevalence among the indigenous people. In the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health survey (AATSIHS) of 2012/2013, by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the risk factors identified include high blood pressure, being obese or overweight, high blood cholesterol, inadequate vegetable and fruit intake, as well as smoking. Obesity and overweight Data shows that of the Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people between the ages of 15 years old, 29% were overweight, and 37% were obese based on a body mass index of 40. The data also showed that between the Aboriginal together with the Torres Strait Islander people, the Torres Strait Islander that were obese or overweight were a bit higher with 40% and 33% respectively. This is as compared to the Aboriginal Australians that were either obese or overweight at 37% and 28% respectively. Of the children aged between 2 and 4 years old, the proportion of those that were obese or overweight was a little smaller among the indigenous at 17% as compared to the non-indigenous at 23%. In the other groups, the number of those that were either obese or overweight were greater in the indigenous than the non-indigenous at 41 % and 42% respectively (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014). High blood pressure From the 2012/2013 survey, 20% of the indigenous people in the age of 18 years and above have high blood pressure. Following the adjustment of age, the adults of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander had a higher risk of high blood pressure in comparison to the non-indigenous people. These Torres Strait Islander and the Aboriginal individuals that had high blood pressure were about three times just as likely as in the people without high blood pressure to develop diabetes at 24% and 9% respectively (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014). Smoking Studies have also shown that the indigenous people of the age 15 years and above have been seen to smoke daily, with 40% being the Torres Strait Islander people and 38% being the Aboriginal. After an age-adjustment, the Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people of over 15 years were seen to be 2.6 times more prone to smoke daily than the non-indigenous people. Of the 69% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults of the age 18 years and above, the Aboriginal, people were 47% and 22% Torres Strait Islanders were current smokers. At the same time, 11% of the current smokers and 17% of the ex-smokers had diabetes. This is compared to the 125 that never smoke (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014). High cholesterol levels When the adults of 18 and over of the indigenous people were examined, 25% showed abnormal results of ≥5.5 mmol/L of cholesterol. At the same time, a low-density lipoprotein cholesterol of ≥3.5 mmol/L was seen in 25% of the population. Similarly, 40% of the adults recorded high-density lipoprotein cholesterol of which males had Read More