Diabetes In Australia Essay

Uncontrolled diabetes can affect nearly every organ of the body; of which, heart disease and kidney failure are most commonly impacted. Known as diabetes mellitus, a collective term for various blood abnormalities, the term diabetes refers to either a scarcity of insulin in the body or the body’s inability to accept insulin. Though the symptoms of diabetes are manageable, many are unaware as to having it. According to the CDC report “2011 Diabetes Fact Sheet,” approximately 6 million people in the United States have undiagnosed diabetes. Undetected, diabetes can become deadly. In a recent World Health Organization report “Diabetes Action Now: An Initiative of the World Health Organization and the International Diabetes Federation,” it

Diabetes mellitus is becoming an increasingly prevalent chronic disease which affects not only the sufferer, but also affects their family, society and numerous healthcare disciplines. According to the International Diabetes Federation (2013), an astounding 382 million people worldwide are living with diabetes. There are several different sub-types of this disease which include: Type 1 (T1DM), Type 2 (T2DM) and Gestational diabetes mellitus. Within Australia, an enormous 85.3% of the population living with this disease are suffering from T2DM (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2012). These statistics highlight the severity of T2DM as it is rapidly becoming the type of greater concern, especially since this “adult-onset” disease is becoming

Diabetes is the most rapidly growing incurable, chronic disease worldwide, which slowly but surely can kill those suffering from it. In Australia alone, the approximate effected population is expanding to over 1.7 million people and an estimated 3.3 million by 2031, with around 100 000 newly

Diabetes is a disease that causes the human body to not create or not use insulin effectively. The body needs insulin to take the energy or sugars and turn it into energy. The human body needs energy to survive. Diabetes can be broken into three main categories. Type 1 diabetes is where the body makes no insulin at all. Type 2 diabetes is where the body does not produce enough insulin or it does not use it correctly. Gestational diabetes is more of a type 2 diabetes for pregnant women, which usually returns to normal after birth (Ruder 7-8).

We need sustained, nationally consistent programs to prevent, detect and manage diabetes in Australia. Too many plans and strategies have been designed and not properly implemented or evaluated.

Diabetes is a very common disorder. It is the 8th leading cause of death worldwide. It is projected that the number of individuals with diabetes will almost double by 2030.

There are over 1.5 million Australians with diabetes. The groups most at risk are people aged over 45 years old, overweight people, people with family history, females with the history of gestational diabetes, people who consume a diet high in sugar, and ATSI people.

Diabetes has recently become a focal point of health care systems around the world due to its high prevalence and the severity of secondary complications caused by the disease. Over the course of my project on diabetes, I have had the opportunity to speak with a group of diabetics to understand from a patient’s perspective how diabetes is managed in a rural community. While I found that while some patients ignored treatment and refused to make any dietary changes, the majority of the patients I interviewed were well-informed and actively managing diabetes in their everyday life.

Currently, it is estimated that there are 285 million people living with diabetes worldwide, and this number is expected to rise. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that by 2030 there will be 552 million people, one in ten adults, with diabetes. The largest growth will be in developing countries, but the projected impact in Canada is also dire. In just eleven years, from 1998 to 2009, the prevalence in Canada increased by 230% and by 2019 the number is expected to reach 3.7 million. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, end stage renal disease, and non-traumatic amputation in Canada.

There are two types of diabetes but this essay will focus more on Type 2 diabetes. Currently, the number of people with diabetes in Australia is going higher and went up to 1 million this year and doubled compared with the statistics in 1989. Approximately, 80 % of them are Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (Diabetes Australia, 2015). Furthermore, according to the survey there are about 1.8% of all Australians have an Intellectual Disability (328,000) and about 9% of them are suffering with diabetes. However, the true prevalence of diabetes in Australia’s population is still unidentified and unknown (Carolan, Holman, Ferrai,

There are many different complications that are caused by diabetes. If you have diabetes, you are up to five times more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke (WHO). When the blood glucose levels are increasing it results in the furring and narrowing of your blood vessels which may result in a poor blood supply to the heart. This can lead to a heart attack or a stroke. This doesn’t only put the patient’s life at risk but it also results in a huge cost on the NHS. It can also affect the patient’s family a friends hugely emotionally but also physically if they are in need of care after the event. It can change the patient’s life style dramatically. It is not only the blood vessels near the heart that are affected it is also the blood vessels in the nerves. This

When people think of causes of death, the big names that come up are usually cancer, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and suicide. These are all huge killers, but the underestimated, unthought-of, underdog of them all might just be diabetes. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death, with an estimated 29 million suffering from the disease and a prediction that 1 in 3 born in 2000 will develop it. In 2005, 233, 619 deaths were due to diabetes and the rate of diabetes development between 2005-2007 increased 13.5%. (CDC, National Diabetes Statistic Report, 2014) Diabetes is a serious disease that isn’t going away. It is the leading cause of blindness, end stage renal disease, and non-traumatic amputations. Diabetes can seemingly appear out of thin air, it can be genetic, it can have symptoms, it can go unnoticed for long periods of time, and as with many other life endangering diseases, it has no cure. The types of diabetes along with their medical therapies and natural preventative measures will be discussed in detail.

The effects of diabetes are nothing less than devastating. It is a disease that is affected by interdependent genetic, social, economic, cultural, and historic factors (CDC, 2011a). In the United States, nearly 26 million Americans are living with diabetes, and another 79 million Americans have prediabetes (CDC, 2011a). Diabetes has been associated with reducing the quality of life of people with the disease, and it also has a tremendous economic burden on our health care system. In 2007, diabetes and its complication accounted for $218 billion in direct and indirect costs in 2007 alone (Dall, et al., 2010).

The Diabetes Australia is an informative website providing in-depth information about the types of diabetes and ways that people can manage a healthy lifestyle with diabetes. The website discusses strategic plans and priorities of ways they can help people with diabetes. Each key element ranges from raising awareness nationally or globally, support programs, advocating healthy lifestyle within communities and increasing research funding.

Diabetes is one of the biggest challenges facing Australians. One person is diagnosed every five minutes equating to 280 Australians diagnosed every day. In total 1.7 million Australian’s suffer from all types of diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most fastest growing condition is Australia. It’s increasing at a faster rate than heart diseases and cancer. 10% of people with diabetes are type 1, the other 85% of diabetes are type 2 and the rest have gestational diabetes in pregnancy. Diabetes is caused when the body can’t maintain glucose in the blood. People that suffer from diabetes must watch their sugar intake to ensure a healthy lifestyle.