Tang, Catherine
Brennan, Sarah
H. Bio / Per. 1
5/1/03
Diabetes – a
Digestive Disorder
What is
Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease
that affects over 16 million of Americans each and every day. While about 6.2%
of the American population has been diagnosed with diabetes, one-third is
unaware that they have the disease. Although diabetes occurs most often in
older adults, it is one of the most common chronic disorders in children in the
United States. About 123,000 children and teenagers age 19 and younger have
diabetes.
Diabetes is basically a
disorder of metabolism, in which it affects the way our bodies uses digested
food for growth and energy. Through this disease, your body is unable to use
insulin, a hormone that helps your body use the energy provided from sugar and
starches. In result, your body does not get the energy that it needs and the
unused sugars gradually build up in your blood causing damage to the body as a
whole. A persistently high blood sugar level due to diabetes can damage blood
vessels in the kidneys. Over time, kidney damage can progress and the kidneys,
an important organ to the body and the digestive process, may stop working altogether.
When we eat, our food is
broken down by the digestive juices into a simple sugar, glucose. After
digestion, the glucose passes into our bloodstream where it is available for
body cells to use for energy. For the glucose to get into the cells, insulin
must be present. The pancreas produces the right amounts of insulin during the
digestive process. The pancreas, like many other organs, is essential during
the digestive process. It secretes enzymes that help break down carbohydrates,
proteins and fats. It is also able to produce hormones, like insulin, to
regulate the blood sugar levels. By doing so, it properly move the glucose from
our blood into our cells. However, in people with diabetes, the pancreas
produces little or no insulin thus resulting glucose to build up in the blood,
overflow into the urine, and pass out of the body. By this process, the
majority of the person’s energy is lost through excretion.
The Types of Diabetes
There are different kinds of diabetes (Principal forms
are: Type 1, Type 2, Gestational, each with slightly varying symptoms and
treatments. They all have serious consequences if left untreated.
Type 1 Diabetes results from
the body's failure to produce insulin and allowing glucose to enter and fuel
the body’s cells. In this type of diabetes, the immune system attacks
the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas and destroys them. The
pancreas then produces little or no insulin. Type 1 Diabetes develops most
often in children and young adults, but the disorder can appear at any age. It is estimated that 5-10% of Americans who are diagnosed
with diabetes have Type 1 Diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes results from insulin resistance, in
which the body fails to properly use insulin, combined with relative insulin
deficiency. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas usually produces insulin, but for
some reason, the body cannot use the insulin effectively. The end result is the
same as for Type 1 Diabetes -- an unhealthy buildup of glucose in the blood and
an inability of the body to make efficient use the energy. Approximately 90-95% (16 million) have type
2 diabetes. This form of diabetes usually develops in adults over the age
of 40 and is most common among adults over age 55. About 80 percent of people
with Type 2 Diabetes are overweight.
Gestational Diabetes affects
about 4% of all pregnant women - about 135,000 cases in the United States each
year. Gestational diabetes develops
or is discovered during pregnancy. This type usually disappears when the
pregnancy is over, but women who have had gestational diabetes have a greater
risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes later in their lives.
The Causes
The cause of diabetes continues to be a
mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and
lack of exercise appear to play roles. A person’s chance of developing diabetes
increases with age, although women have a higher chance of obtaining diabetes.
Recent studies show that diabetes occur frequently in African Americans,
Hispanics, American Indians, and Alaska Natives. Although other complications
such as heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity, kidney disease, and renal
disease (kidney) may cause diabetes, there are several factors that vary for each
individual. Nonetheless, it is wise to keep these in minds and maintain a
healthy life-style for a life free of diabetes.
Symptoms of Diabetes
The
symptoms of diabetes may not be easily detected because they can occur without
the diagnosis of diabetes, but if the following conditions appear suddenly then
contacting a physician is necessary.
Not all of these symptoms indicate diabetes, but
certain combinations that appear together can be used to detect this
disease. Sometimes no symptoms occur at
all when diabetes is present.
Consequences and Complications
People
diagnosed with diabetes must become responsible immediately and have a
day-to-day care schedule that is followed carefully. This routine includes
preventing blood glucose levels from getting too high or too low. Hypoglycemia is a condition in which blood
glucose levels drop too low causing a person to appear nervous and confused,
and if too low can cause a person to faint.
Hyperglycemia is the condition in which the blood glucose levels become
too high causing a person to become ill.
Common long-term
complications affect the entire body.
Those with
diabetes can prevent complications and severity in their condition, and lead a
healthy life, with regular self-monitoring of blood glucose and a proper
combination of diet, exercise and medication.
Prevention
Studies have found that
life-style modifications can prevent and delay the onset of Type 2 diabetes.
Changes in diet and the addition of exercise reduced the development of
diabetes. In the Diabetes Prevention
Program, a large prevention study of people at high risk for diabetes, people
treated with medication reduced their risk of developing diabetes. There is no
known way to prevent Type 1 diabetes, but the best way to take care of your health is to work with your
health care team to keep your blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol in
your target range.
Two
tests are commonly used to measure blood sugar. The hemoglobin A1c test,
performed by your doctor, measures your blood sugar control over the last three
months. The National Diabetes Education Program advises getting the test at
least twice a year. The second is the blood sugar test you do yourself before
meals and at bedtime. You need both tests to get a complete picture of your
blood sugar control. These tests help detect diabetes early and if tested
often, diabetes will not become a threat.
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