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According to the Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary,
a monster is defined as one "that is looked upon with horror on account
of extraordinary crimes, deformity or power to do harm." By the end
of this course, you will see that diabetes can, indeed, be looked upon
as a monster, and that it's time the health care industry made more serious
efforts at its taming.
It is currently estimated that there are approximately 21 million people
in the United States with diabetes, and it is estimated that a third of
this population do not know they have it (Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention [CDC], 2006). A further breakdown reveals that 8.7% of
all people age 20 or over have diabetes and 18.3% of all people 60 or
over have this condition (CDC, 2003). In addition, it is estimated that
there are another 41 million people in this country with "pre-diabetes;"
in other words, they are at significant risk of developing this chronic
condition (CDC, 2006). Some more recent estimates put this number as high
as 54 million. The incidence of diabetes is rising rapidly, becoming a
significant epidemic in this country. According to the CDC (2006), the
number of people in the United States with diagnosed diabetes has more
than doubled in the last 15 years.
We are not the only country seeing a rapid rise in the incidence of diabetes.
There are an estimated 240 million people worldwide with diabetes, and
this number is expected to rise to 380 million by the year 2025. This
is the first time that a non-infectious disease is recognized as posing
as serious a threat to world health as infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria. Diabetes kills as many people worldwide as does
HIV/AIDS. In December 2006, the United Nations passed a resolution proclaiming
November 14, 2007 (and every November 14 thereafter) as World Diabetes
Day. This is to encourage all countries to put policies in place to better
diagnose and care for those with diabetes (International Diabetes Federation,
2007). The official logo for World Diabetes Day is a blue circle that
symbolizes life, health, and unity. The Unite for Diabetes campaign endeavors
to draw the global diabetes community together to effectively combat this
epidemic. Information regarding this campaign can be accessed at www.unitefordiabetes.org.
Clearly, diabetes has reached pandemic proportions worldwide. Why is
this?
First let’s review the main risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, which
accounts for 90-95% of all cases of diabetes. These risk factors include
aging, having a family history of diabetes, and being overweight (and
having a sedentary lifestyle). In addition, certain ethnic populations,
such as Native Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and African Americans,
carry a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes. First, we are all at risk of developing
diabetes as we age. If we live long enough, we age, and obviously there
is no control for that risk factor. Second, Type 2 diabetes tends to run
in families such that if an individual has a family history of diabetes,
his or her risk is increased. Since we can’t pick our parents, there
is also no control for that risk factor. However, being overweight (and
sedentary) is something we can control,
and this will be discussed later. With these risk factors in mind, it
is no wonder there is an alarming increase in the incidence of diabetes
in this country. Consider the aging population, the rapid growth in obesity,
and the growing ethnic populations of the United States, and one can see
why diabetes has reached the epidemic it has in this country.
According to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the incidence
of diabetes, initially reported at 4-6% for most states in the U.S. in
1990, was reported at greater than 6% by the year 2000 (CDC, 2003; Mokdad
et al., 2000). There are some estimates that that number will reach 10%
by the year 2010. According to a recent report, one out of every three
Americans born in the year 2000 will develop diabetes at some point in
their lives (Naravan et al., 2003). Why is this important and what can
we do about it?
The purpose of this course is to review and update nurses' information
and understanding of diabetes care and self-management education.
© 2007 NYSNA, all rights reserved.
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