According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes affects more than
29 million Americans and, while proper management of the disease can delay
or prevent complications, it is the seventh-leading cause of death in
the United States. Despite increased awareness about the disease, its
prevalence is on the rise.
Barnabas Health is committed to helping people identify and reduce their risk of diabetes and its complications, as well as offering tools and tips on how to manage the disease to promote longer, healthier lives.
Understanding Diabetes
Diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by the body’s inability to secrete enough insulin. Because insulin is needed by the body to convert glucose into energy, this inability results in abnormally high levels of glucose accumulating in the blood.
The three main types of diabetes — type 1, type 2 and gestational — all are defined as metabolic disorders that affect the way the body metabolizes, or uses, digested food to make glucose, the main source of fuel for the body.
Symptoms
Common symptoms include frequent urination, intense thirst, feeling hungry even though you have eaten, extreme fatigue, blurry vision, cuts or bruises that are slow to heal and tingling and pain or numbness in the hands or feet. Women with gestational diabetes often have no symptoms, so it’s important for them to maintain regular checkups with their physicians.
Managing Diabetes
Diabetes is marked by too much sugar in the blood, and people with the illness face ongoing challenges affecting nearly every aspect of their health. The key is control — if blood sugar can be controlled, complications can be prevented.
Keeping diabetes in check involves eating right, being active and maintaining a healthy weight. It also requires an individual to monitor blood sugar, take medication and see the right doctors.
Wound Care: People with diabetes often don’t heal well, which can lead to infected cuts or sores. The most common wound site is the feet, as they generally encounter the most wear and tear.
Heart and Vascular Health: Diabetes can damage arteries and cause heart and vascular disease — blocking the arteries, often called “hardening of the arteries,” and thickening the lining of blood vessels, which reduces blood flow through the vessels and makes people with the disease twice as likely to have a heart attack or stroke.
Diabetes also affects neurovascular health — up to 70 percent of people with diabetes will develop some type of neuropathy, including nerve damage that could cause tingling, pain or numbness in the hands or feet, slowed digestion, sexual dysfunction and other nerve problems.
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension): Studies report a positive association between hypertension and insulin resistance. When patients have both hypertension and diabetes, which is a common combination, their risk for cardiovascular disease doubles.
Abnormal Cholesterol and High Triglycerides: Patients with diabetes often have unhealthy cholesterol levels, including high LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, low HDL (“good”) cholesterol and high triglycerides.
Obesity: Obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and has been strongly associated with insulin resistance.
Lack of Physical Activity: Physical inactivity is another modifiable major risk factor for insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. Exercising and losing weight can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes, reduce blood pressure and help reduce the risk for heart attack and stroke.
Poorly Controlled Blood Sugars (Too High) or Out of Normal Range: Diabetes can cause blood sugar to rise to dangerous levels. Medications may be needed to manage blood sugar.
Eye Health: It’s important to have an eye exam after a diagnosis of diabetes, followed by checkups with an ophthalmologist at least annually. To prevent or minimize vision problems, keep your blood sugar within normal ranges.
For more information about diabetes including symptoms of, types and managing diabetes, visit the diabetes health center in the Barnabas Health online Health Library at http://healthlibrary.barnabashealth.org/Conditions/Diabetes/.