Type II Diabetes - Research Paper Example

This equates to approximately $1 of every $10 health care dollars spent caring for this illness. Like all other healthcare issues in the United States, this cost has only increased in recent years. Although the statistics in the U.S. are staggering, the International Diabetes Federation reports that of the ten most diabetes-prone countries in the world, seven of them are developing countries that don’t typically have access to the best treatment, medicine or have reliable reporting techniques to be able to track the illness.

Diabetes increases an individual’s risks of stroke and heart disease as well as present a number of other health problems. “These life-threatening consequences strike people with diabetes more than twice as often as they do others” (American Diabetes Association, 2006). Other complications associated with diabetes include kidney disease, blindness, and the threat of amputations. “In some countries in the Caribbean and the Middle East, the percentage of the diabetic population ranges from 12 to 20 percent” (Dorfman, 2007).

Regardless of one’s position within the medical profession, one should have knowledge of this illness and the way in which it can affect patient health. Insulin is the primary factor involved in diabetes. A healthy body produces insulin as a means of managing the levels of glucose within the bloodstream. Glucose is a simple sugar that enters the body through consumed food and makes its way into red blood cells as one of the body’s primary sources of energy. In a healthy body, the levels of glucose remain relatively constant, giving the individual a stable source of energy throughout the day.

This is accomplished through the production of glucagons and insulin, both specific forms of hormones produced by the pancreas. The insulin acts as a regulator of glucose, preventing it from disproportionate increases. Type II diabetes refers to ‘non-insulin-dependent’ or