Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Diseases in Florida and the United States - Essay Example

"Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Diseases in Florida and the United States" is a decent example of a paper on epidemiology.
The most prevalent non-communicable diseases in both Florida and the US are cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. There are rare cases of respiratory diseases in both places. These are the three diseases that will be discussed in this essay comparing both Florida and the overall country of the US.

Diabetes

Florida has been named among the top ten leading states with diabetes. The primary cause of this diabetes is obesity and especially among the older population. The blacks and Hispanics have been diagnosed highly with the disease than the whites and this is associated with their socio-economic status and poor eating habits. With the alarming statistics, the Florida community in collaboration with the hospitals has launched healthy eating programs as well as those involving exercises to lose weight for both children and adults (Acton, 2012).

The diabetes problem brought about by obesity is way worse in the whole country as statistics are provided by the CDC. In the larger US, however, the diabetes problem is more spread in the younger population something that was not the case in the past decades. With the alarming statistics, the Department of Health in coordination with the Department of Education has joined hands in launching and implementation diabetes self-management education where the children, as well as adults with diabetes, are taught how to manage the disease on their own. This is a curative technique. The preventive technique has focused on education of the need for eating healthy both in school and at home (Fratti, 2011). The school feeding programs have been emphasized to focus on providing healthy foods and snacks as well as be dedicated to physical education for all students in order for them to manage their weight.

Cancer

Cancer is one of the top five killer diseases in the US. The most prevalent type of cancer in Florida is skin cancer from the scorching sun. Many people have been diagnosed with deadly cancer that was not even known a few years prior. Measures are being taken by the Florida health department to campaign on skin products to avoid using and those that are recommended to prevent the disease. There are also other types of cancer present in the area such as breast cancer and lung cancer with the majority of those affected being women. The most recent of the measures being undertaken is cancer screening and especially for skin cancer as one of the preventive and curative measures (Silverstein, Silverstein and Silverstein, 2006).

The high cancer rates in Florida are a reflection of what is happening in the whole of the US. The only minor difference is that the US has other types of cancers like the cancer of the trachea and cervical cancer among many others. The gender affected also varies and so is the race that is affected. There is laxity in measures undertaken to prevent or cure the disease and most of the health resources are not focused on cancer treatment (Schreiber, 2011). The advice offered to many of the cancer patients is to book hospice care.

Cardiovascular diseases

Lastly is a cardiovascular disease whose epidemiology in the whole of the US is way higher than in Florida. In Florida, the people most prone to cardiovascular diseases are those over 65 years and still, the number is not alarming. This is attributed to the diabetes campaigns and initiatives of exercising and healthy eating (Acton, 2013). In the US, however, the numbers are alarming. People who are young as 30 years are being diagnosed with one type of cardiovascular disease or another.

Most of the states are populated in urban areas with people being too busy to exercise very few recreational activities and little vacation time to relax from the stress of work, economic depression, or even traffic. All these stress piles up in addition to the lack of exercise and surviving on fast food have caused an increase in cardiovascular diseases, making it the number one killer disease in the US. No strict measures other than little campaigns have been undertaken.