Personal Best Health Wellness - Type 2 Diabetes

Why it's increasing and when you should get tested

As the fourth leading cause of death by disease in the U.S., diabetes deserves our attention particularly since it is now growing at an epidemic rate. Take a few minutes to review the facts below, especially if you are overweight and/or related to someone who has type 2 diabetes.

• Since the 1950s, the number of Americans diagnosed with type 2 diabetes has tripled.
• As baby boomers age, the number of Americans with diabetes will rise from 16 million to 21 million within the next decade.
• The chief reason for the increase: obesity — 80-90% of people with type 2 diabetes are overweight.
• Today, 90% of diabetics are over age 40 — but many of them don't know they have it because symptoms develop gradually and are, initially, hard to identify.
• Type 2 diabetes is a disorder of the metabolism in which the body can't adequately produce or use its own insulin. It accounts for 90-95% percent of all cases of diabetes.
• Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune disease in which the body produces virtually no insulin. It develops most often in children and young adults who must take daily insulin injections their entire lives.
• Insulin is needed to utilize glucose, a sugar made from digested food that is the primary "fuel" for the body. About 40% of type 2 diabetics eventually require daily insulin injections, as do type 1 diabetics.
• Lack of insulin, or the inability to use it, results in high blood sugar levels. This often leads to serious complications from damaged blood vessels, nerves and organs, including:
• Risk of heart attack increases as much as 400%.
• Risk of stroke increases as much as 600%.
• Nerve and blood vessel damage can cause vision loss, kidney failure, impotence and limb amputations.
• Early diagnosis is important because the longer diabetes goes untreated, the greater the damage and risk for disability and early death. An estimated 150,000 Americans die each year as a result of diabetes or its complications. The cause of type 2 diabetes is unclear; but doctors do know certain factors can put you at increased risk, including:
• obesity
• under 65 years old and get little or no exercise during a usual day
• between 45 and 64 years old
• if you're a woman who has had a baby weighing more than 9 pounds at birth.
• sister or brother with diabetes
• a parent with diabetes

Source: American Diabetes Association

The good news: If you have the genetic tendency for type 2 diabetes, a proper diet, healthy weight and good physical fitness can delay or even prevent its onset.

Progress in the treatment of diabetes includes: improved oral medications; an inhaled insulin to replace daily injections, available soon; stricter guidelines that lower the levels of what is considered safe blood sugar, redefining who has diabetes; and broader guidelines for dietary choices.

Diabetes Self Test

The American Diabetes Association provides a test at their Web site where you can calculate your risk for having diabetes and help determine if you need to get tested.

Warning Signs

• Drowsiness
• Blurred vision
• Easily fatigued
• Itching
• Excessive thirst
• A family history of diabetes
• Tingling, numbness or pain in the extremities
• Skin infection, slow healing of cuts and scratches, especially on the feet

Earlier screening: More cases of adult-onset diabetes are occurring among people of all ages, including teens, because they are overweight. Given its potential for harm and earlier development, earlier screening – conducted with a simple, routine blood-sugar test – could indicate a future problem worth knowing about now.