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Diabetes
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Diabetes is a serious disease which can lead to heart problems, strokes, loss of limbs due to poor circulation, and death. Research continues to indicate that regular exercise and a healthy diet are two factors which can help people avoid diabetes, as well as allow diabetics to have functional lives.[4] Diabetes is the name of the condition where the blood sugar level consistently runs too high. Diabetes is the most common endocrine disorder.[5] Diabetes is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, contributing to more than 213,000 deaths annually. Morbidity and mortality due to diabetes has made this disease a significant public health problem and led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recently declare the disease an epidemic in the United States. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the United States. A metabolic disorder, diabetes affects the way the body uses digested food for growth and energy. Diabetes is particularly common among middle-aged and older adults. According to IHS, the age adjusted diabetes mortality rate was at 70 percent for AIANs in 2004 while it was 20 percent all races nationally.[8]
Diabetes is the most rapidly growing chronic disease of our time. It has become an epidemic that affects one out of every 12 adult New Yorkers.[9] Diabetes is a disorder of metabolism--the way our bodies use digested food for growth and energy. Most of the food we eat is broken down into glucose, the form of sugar in the blood.[10] Diabetes is a disease in which the sufferers body doesn't create or make correct use of insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is essential to transform glucose into energy needed for life. Diabetes is associated with an increased risk for a number of serious, sometimes life-threatening complications. Heart disease and stroke account for about 65 percent of deaths in people with diabetes. Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your body doesn't make enough of a hormone called insulin, or if your body doesn't use insulin the right way. If left untreated, it may result in blindness, heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and amputations.[13] Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects the way your body digests food. A healthy body will digest food and convert it into glucose, a chemical that fuels the cells of the body.[14] Diabetes is a serious and costly disease. It can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, pregnancy complications and lower-extremity amputations.[15] Diabetes is characterized by high levels of blood glucose (sugar). There are three main types of diabetes: Type 1 diabetes Type 2 diabetes Gestational diabetes Type 1 diabetes, formerly called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or juvenile-onset diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that results when the body’s immune system attacks and destroys its own insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas.[16]
Diabetes is also an important factor in accelerating the hardening and narrowing of the arteries (atherosclerosis ), leading to strokes, coronary heart disease, and other large blood vessel diseases. This is referred to as macrovascular disease .[17] Diabetes is one of the major causes of premature death worldwide. Every 10 seconds a person dies from diabetes-related causes.[18] Diabetes is a disease marked by high blood glucose (sugar) levels as a result of the hormone insulin not functioning properly in the body. Insulin, normally secreted by the body's pancreas, stimulates cells to absorb glucose in bloodstream.[19] Diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death by disease and has no cure. HOW: The Diabetes Risk Test is available in English and Spanish by calling the Association at 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383) or online at www.diabetes.org/alert .[20] Diabetes is of special concern during pregnancy. Diabetes can occur in women who are not pregnant, or it can start during pregnancy.[21] Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness and kidney failure among adults. It causes mild to severe nerve damage that, coupled with diabetes-related circulation problems, often leads to the loss of a leg or foot.[22]
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