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Medicine Talk
Siletz
Community
Diabetes Becoming Epidemic
The weight creep is finally catching
up with Americans. As America gains
weight and moves less, the number of
cases of diabetes increases. The greatest
increase is seen in type II diabetes,
the diabetes associated with
being overweight.
How do we know this? In the United
States, the Center for Disease Control and
state health agencies operate an ongoing
data collection program called the
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance
System (BRFSS). Last September, the
CDC published BRFSS data showing
that from 1990 to 1998, cases of
diagnosed diabetes, including gestational
diabetes (diabetes in pregnancy), rose 33
percent (4.9 percent to 6.5 percent) among
U.S. adults.
In the February 2001 issue of
Diabetes Care, the 1999 update of
BRFSS data was reported. The number
of cases of diabetes increased by another
6 percent! This brings the rise in
diabetes since 1990 to 41 percent!
This devastating finding has lead to
the conclusion that we need to label
diabetes as an “epidemic.” And the rise
in diabetes was not just documented in
a small segment of the population. The
increases were seen in every category,
including when data were analyzed by
sex, age, race, education, weight, and
smoking status.
Prevalence increased among both
women (7.4 percent to 7.6 percent) and
men (5.5 percent to 6 percent) and
among all ethnic groups, including
whites (5.9 percent to 6.2 percent),
blacks (8.9 percent to 9.9 percent),
Hispanics (7.7 percent to 8 percent) and
all others (6.6 percent to 7.7 percent).
The BRFSS also links the increase
in diabetes with the rising rates of
obesity, a major risk factor for diabetes.
The prevalence of obesity increased
significantly from 17.9 percent in 1998
to 18.9 percent in 1999, an increase of
5.6 percent in one year and 57 percent
from 1991.
Diabetes is the seventh leading
cause of death in this country and a
major contributor to serious health
problems, such as heart disease, stroke,
blindness, high blood pressure, kidney
disease, and amputations.
If diabetes rates continue to rise,
this not only will have devastating
emotional and physical impacts on
health, but also a major impact on health
care costs. In 1997, an estimated
$98 billion was spent on health care
associated with diabetes.
Currently, more than 16 million
Americans have diabetes and about a
third do not know they have it. While
about 800,000 new cases of diabetes are
diagnosed each year, many cases go
undiscovered. The symptoms of
frequent thirst, urination, and hunger
can come and go, depending on
personal activity levels and food
Check Out Your Knees
Running is a great form of exercise that can become addicting (after three or four
months of feeling close to cardiac arrest). Running requires good listening skills -
you need to listen to your body. Running “through” the aches and pains may not be
the best thing to do. Here are some common knee problems to watch (and feel) for:
Patellar tendonitis feels like a sharp pain between the tendon that joins the
kneecap to the shinbone. It occurs with too much downhill running or over
training. Knee straps, leg-extension machines, and ice twice a day may help.
Chrondromalacia is a burning, achy sensation on top of the kneecap. This is
caused by weak quadriceps muscles, over-pronation, running in worn shoes,
downhill running, or sudden mileage increases. Leg-press machines, straight
leg raises, and cross training by cycling all may help with the pain.
Iliotibial band syndrome is a stabbing pain on the outside of the knee caused
by bowed legs, leg-length differences, tight quadriceps, over-pronation, or
sudden increases in mileage. A hot shower massage and proper stretching
may help with this pain.
Source: ww’w. topica. com/tipworld
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Siletz News
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April 2001
choices. Diabetes often is diagnosed
when an individual seeks medical
attention for other reasons and a blood
test reveals high blood sugar. The
definitive diagnosis is usually made by
repeat fasting blood sugars that find
values over 126 mg/dl.
How can you decrease your risk of
diabetes? Maintaining a healthy body
weight through both food choices
and regular physical exercise has the
most impact on reducing your risk of
type II diabetes.
The government is trying to
decrease diabetes and improve
treatment by coordinating a National
Diabetes Education Program (NDEP).
This initiative involves both public and
private partners to improve diabetes
treatment, promote early diagnosis, and
maintain quality of life for people with
diabetes. The CDC and the National
Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) are the
coordinating agencies.
For more information on
diabetes, visit the CDC’s Web site
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes
or
call toll free l-877-CDC-DIAB
(877-232-3422).
For information about nutrition and
physical activity, call toll free at
1-888-CDC-4NRG ( 1 -888-232-4674) or
visit http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa.
Health
Clinic
What’s for Dinner?
Having someone with diabetes over
for dinner? Don’t panic.
A diet for diabetes is basically a
healthy diet. A meal that includes lean
meat, poultry, fish, ora vegetarian source
of protein, a starch such as a baked potato,
and a vegetable and/or salad can easily
meet most people’s needs.
Let guests choose their portion size
so they can decide on the amount that
matches the quantity of carbohydrate
that maintains the best blood sugar
and weight.
Source: www.healthandage.coin
Get Help with
Health Care
Choices
Need help obtaining health
insurance? Confused by your insurance
policy? Unsure about your health
care rights? A new consumer
publication from the Oregon Insurance
Division may be able to help.
The free booklet, “Consumer Guide
to Health Insurance,” is designed to help
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health care choices.
The booklet discusses what kinds
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identifies resources to obtain coverage,
and explains your options if you lose
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insurance coverage.
It also summarizes your health care
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glossary of health insurance terms.
To receive a free copy of the
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an
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to
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also is available on the division’s Web
site www.oregoninsurance.org.