GIVE 2 PARAGRAPH RESPONSE TO THIS POST BY CINDY A disease that has always been of great interest to me is Diabetes

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GIVE 2 PARAGRAPH RESPONSE TO THIS POST BY CINDY A disease that has always been of great interest to me is Diabetes

GIVE 2 PARAGRAPH RESPONSE TO THIS POST BY CINDY A disease that has always been of great interest to me is Diabetes. This is because of the sheer prevalence of diabetes and my personal loved ones that have diabetes. This disease was acknowledged centuries ago in regards to excessive urination in ancient Egyptian manuscripts. In 400-500 A.D. there was an ancient Indian physician, Sushruta and a surgeon named Charaka who identified that there were two types of diabetes (Lakhtakia, 2013). However, it was Aretaeus the Cappadocian who received credit for the discovery and complete description of diabetes (Lakhtakia, 2013). In learning the history of diabetes, it was interesting to learn of the early treatments when there was little understanding of the disease. Treatment options ranged from oil of roses, red coral, dates/almonds and even opium prior to the insulin era (Lakhtakia, 2013). Diabetes is a chronic disease that is characterized by higher than normal blood sugar levels. This is caused by the inability of the body to produce enough insulin (type 1 diabetes) or the inability of the body to use the insulin it makes (type 2 diabetes) which causes a buildup of sugar in the blood (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019). The common symptoms of diabetes include excessive thirst and urination, headache, fatigue and blurry vision. There is not a cure yet for diabetes, but treatment is similar in both types such as frequent fingerstick blood glucose monitoring, medication management, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Of note, type 1 diabetics will require insulin injections every day just to survive. A medication that is not cheap! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the incidence of diabetes has been declining since 2008 (2020). However, diabetes prevalence continues to increase. Approximately, 34.2 million people in the US have diabetes (CDC, 2019). Furthermore, it is currently the 7th cause of death in the US. The CDC reports this was based on the number of death certificates with diabetes listed as the underlying cause of death. Diabetics are at risk for several other diseases and conditions such as hypertension, stroke, kidney failure, blindness, amputations and more. Persons with a family history of diabetes, are overweight, age greater than 45 years and are African American, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native are at higher risk for type 2 diabetes. Family history of diabetes and age of 20 years or younger are risk factors for type 1 diabetes. The CDC reported 25 per 10,000 adolescents had diagnosed diabetes in 2018 (2020). There is also an increased prevalence of diabetes by region (ranging from rates of 6.4% to 13.6%) with higher prevalence in southeastern states in the US. Therefore, geographical location could be a risk factor. Resources Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2019). About diabetes. Retrieved on March 25th, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/diabetes.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). National diabetes statistics report. Retrieved on March 25th, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/data/statistics/statistics-report.html Lakhtakia, R. (2013). The history of diabetes mellitus. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 13(3), 368-370. doi: 10.12816/0003257