Tag Archive for 'Type 2 Diabetes'

Get in control of your health by knowing your numbers

Published on January 9, 2013 in BCBSNC and Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Do you think you might be at risk for diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases?  How can you find out? Well fortunately there is a system of “numbers” we can use to tell us how we compare to healthier individuals. By knowing your numbers, you can take action to make positive changes that will help prevent the onset of chronic health conditions. Considering the likelihood that many individuals will develop a chronic, preventable disease resulting in poor quality of life, declining productivity, and higher health care costs has become a major concern and priority for health care providers, insurers, and employers, especially Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Every person is unique and requires personalized assessment based on the best medical evidence.

Preventive screenings help you get familiar with your numbers and tackle health concerns before they become more serious—or to prevent health problems in the first place.

For example, a high waist circumference number indicates a greater level of abdominal fat which is associated with an increased risk for type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease. According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services women with a waist circumference of more than 35 inches, and men with a waist circumference of more than 40 inches are at increased disease risk.

Of course, you inherit some risk for these diseases from your family. But the majority of chronic disease risk is in the lifestyle we lead – specifically linked to smoking, poor diet and an inactive lifestyle. These are things you can change.

Before you visit your doctor for your next health checkup, try to be prepared to talk about which preventive screenings you need:

  • Blood pressure
  • Cholesterol
  • Fasting glucose (blood sugar)
  • Body mass index (BMI)
  • Blood Pressure – This is one of the strongest markers for heart disease risk. It is measured as two numbers. Systolic pressure is the first number and is the pressure when the heart is contracting. Diastolic is the second number and is the pressure when the heart is at rest between beats. Normal blood pressure is 120 / 80 or below.
  • Cholesterol Levels – Too much bad cholesterol can lead to a hardening of your arteries. This can put you at risk for a heart attack or stroke. When it comes to cholesterol, there are two important numbers you should know. LDL, is the bad cholesterol, and should be below 130 mg/dL, and lower is better. HDL, is good cholesterol, and should be above 40 mg/dL. Your total cholesterol (TC) level should be below 200 mg/dL.
  • Blood Sugar – A blood sugar test is commonly used to diagnose the presence of diabetes. A fasting blood sugar (taken when you haven’t eaten for 12 hours) should be below 100 mg/dL.
  • Body Mass Index (BMI) – This is calculated from two other numbers that you probably know – your weight and height. Your BMI will be one way to gauge if you are classified as being overweight. However, it is not a perfect measure. In people with above normal muscle mass, like bodybuilders, the BMI may indicate the individual is overweight when they are in great condition. For most of us, however, BMI is a great way to gauge how our weight compares to recommended levels. Here is an easy way to calculate your BMI.

If you know your numbers, solving the total health equation is a lot easier.

Diabetes has doubled over the past three decades

Published on March 23, 2012 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Diabetes is a lifelong (chronic) disease in which there are high levels of sugar in the blood.

Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to control blood sugar. Diabetes can be caused by too little insulin, resistance to insulin, or both.

A recent study has found that the number of diabetes cases has soared to around 347 million, more than doubling over the past thirty years.

Since diabetes usually hits around middle age, most of the rise is due to the aging population and population growth, but some of the increase is due to mounting obesity rates.

Experts have reported that the disease is no longer just a problem in richer countries but is now a world-wide concern, since it is a growing obstacle just about everywhere.

Majid Ezzati, chair of global environmental health at Imperial College London and one of the study authors, said “diabetes may well become the defining issue of global health for the next decade.” He also brought up the fact that the numbers don’t take into account all the overweight children and young adults who haven’t reached middle age. This could later cause an immense burden on our health care systems. He claimed, “we are not at the peak of this wave yet and unlike high blood pressure and cholesterol, we still don’t have great treatments for diabetes.”

This said, in Britain and other places in Western Europe, in spite of increasing waistlines, there was just a small rise in diabetes. So far experts are not sure why this is and believe there could be many reasons such as inadequate detection of the disease, genetic differences or maybe that Europeans are better at helping overweight people decrease their chances of developing diabetes.

The most common type of diabetes is Type 2 and it is usually related to obesity. It emerges when the body isn’t able to make enough insulin to break down glucose, thus raising blood sugar levels. Diet, exercise and medication can help manage the disease, but dangerously high blood sugar damages nerves, which can result in kidney disease, amputation and even blindness.

To acquire their estimate, Ezzati and his colleagues examined over 150 national health surveys and studies tracking Type 2 diabetes in adults over 25 in 199 countries and territories. They figured that there were around 347 million people with diabetes around the globe. An earlier study in 2010, that used different methods, estimated there were 285 million with diabetes. There were 153 million found in 1980, but these figures came with a large margin of error, which ranged from 314 to 382 million.

Doctors are concerned that the higher inclinations of some groups such as Asians, black and Hispanics to diabetes, could substantially escalate rates in the future. Although this is very disheartening, some doctors and researchers are optimistic that the depressing trend could possibly be reversed. Michelle Obama’s fight against childhood obesity is one step in the right direction.

 

Type 2 diabetes may mean shorter life

Published on March 7, 2011 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

A middle-aged person with Type 2 diabetes will lose about six years of their life due to the disease. According to researchers, this is just one year less than a smoker would lose of the same age. Additionally, he or she has more than double the chance of dying from cardiovascular disease as someone who does not have diabetes and the report also says that they are 25 percent more prone to die of cancer. The report was based on an international study of more than 820,000 people that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

There is more bad news for people with Type 2 diabetes. The study indicates that they are also more likely to die from kidney disease, pneumonia, liver disease, infectious diseases and even intentional self-harm.

This study was run by the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration at the University of Cambridge in England. The data collected is particularly upsetting because of the speedy incidence of diabetes cases in the United States, most likely from the increase in obesity. There is currently an estimated 25.8 million Americans with diabetes, which is 10 million more than just 20 years ago.

Dr. David Kendall of the American Diabetes Association said that researchers already knew that diabetes could cut short one’s lifespan but this recent study shows just how many years of life could be lost and to what causes.

Also shown in the report was the fact that people with pre-diabetes, having blood glucose levels higher than normal but not yet diabetic, are at risk from many of the same causes of death. There is an estimated 79 million Americans who have pre-diabetes.

Kendall said that even though diabetes is frequently seen as just a condition instead of an illness, as something one can just live with. He said, “well, in fact, this shows that it is associated with a significant risk of both morbidity and mortality.”

The report from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration found that diabetics were 2.32 times as likely as non-diabetics to die from cardiovascular disease and 25 percent more likely to die from cancer. Also diabetes was somewhat related to death from cancers of the pancreas, ovary, colon, liver, rectum, lung, bladder and breast.

The study did not have enough proof on whether Type 1 diabetes, when the pancreas stops producing insulin, is associated with a risk for cancer.

 

Why excess belly fat is a health hazard

Published on April 19, 2010 in Health and Wellness. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , , , .

Having too much belly fat is definitely a bummer when you are trying to shop for new jeans or put on that swimsuit for that first day at the pool. This said, it is also linked with a smorgasbord of health problems like increased blood glucose levels, Type 2 diabetes, elevated blood pressure and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Dr. Donald Hensrud, the chair of the division of preventive medicine at the Mayo Clinic diet, said “There’s an increased risk of heart disease with increasing waist circumference or abdominal fat, and increased risk of overall mortality.”

So basically,  if you can lose the belly, you’ll be happier and healthier.

According to Hensrud, there are two kinds of belly fat; subcutaneous fat and visceral fat. Inside the abdominal wall you have visceral fat and outside the abdominal wall is subcutaneous fat, which is the fat that you can actually grab. It is usually assumed that visceral fat is more dangerous and is linked with more health risks.  Most of the time, this is true, but there’s some evidence that subcutaneous fat can be harmful as well.

So what do you do if you are extra thick around the middle? Well there are steps you can take. First of all, if you drink alcohol, try to stop or cut down, especially if you like beer. If you can’t stop cold turkey, at least switch to light beer and try to limit your drinking to the weekends.

There is some evidence that points to skipping breakfast as being a culprit in visceral fat accumulation, according to Hensrud. He also said that some dietary patterns tend to affect fat distribution. One study revealed that a diet with 25 percent of calories coming from fructose was connected with a surge in weight gain.

I’m sure I don’t have to remind you to exercise when you are trying to reduce that belly, but forget about spot-reducing. Hensrud said “Either doing specific exercise, crunches, or wearing one of these belts around the middle things, it doesn’t work.”

The good news is that once you do begin to lose weight, you may notice it first in your belly area. According to Hensrud, visceral fat appears to be more metabolically active, so it’s accumulated and broken down more rapidly that fat in other areas.

Hensrud also said that two studies found that people who failed to lose weight during an exercise program still lost visceral fat in their abdomens.

Diabetes reversed in teens with obesity surgery

Published on December 31, 2008 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

About a third of America’s youth are either overweight or obese. More and more obese children are being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which is the most common form of the disease and the one that is linked with obesity. In the past, it was rarely seen in kids.

On the positive side, a small study has shown that obesity surgery can reverse  diabetes in teens like it does in adults. There were 11 patients in the study who were aged 14 to 21 and all were severely obese, ranging from 250 to 403 pounds. They were taking diabetes pills and one was on insulin. They had gastric bypass surgery or stomach stapling at five different medical centers. At Cincinnati Children’s Hospital,they were compared to 67 teens who were mostly obese and had diabetes. Their blood sugar was being controlled with diet and medication.

After a year, those who had surgery had lost between 72 and 218 pounds, but none had reduced to a normal weight. Diabetes disappeared within a year for all but one of the 11 severely obese teens in the study, after under going weight- loss surgery, according to the researchers. The 11th patient still had diabetes, but was able to stop taking diabetes pills and needed much less insulin.

All of the teens who did not have surgery still had diabetes after a year and there was no change in their weight or their medication usage, but their blood sugar levels showed improvement.

The researchers said the reason wasn’t clear why diabetes wasn’t reversed in one patient who had been through the surgery, but they mentioned that his mother and a sibling had Type 2 diabetes. The teen still needed to take insulin but was no longer overweight three years after the surgery. Another reason could be that his diabetes was more advanced than the other teens in the study. Previous adult studies have found that the chances of reversing diabetes are better when the surgery is done soon after a being diagnosed. The others were most likely successful because their surgery was done while the patients were in the early stages of the disease.

Cases of diabetes in U.S. jump

Published on November 10, 2008 in Health and Wellness. 0 Comments Tags: , .

In the past 10 years, the rate of new diabetes cases has almost doubled in the U.S. The South had the highest levels. All this was stated in the government’s state-by-state review of new diagnoses.

West Virginia had the highest rate, where 13 in 1,000 adults were diagnosed with the disease. Minnesota, a northern state, had the lowest, where there was 5 in 1,000 cases.

Type 2 diabetes, the form that is linked to obesity, accounted for 90 percent of the cases. The findings reflect geographic trends that occur with obesity and physical inactivity, which are also tied to heart disease. The southern states ranked the worst in these cases as well.

The study was done by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and covered most states. Previous studies have given state-specific estimates of diabetes cases, but this is the only one that has charted where the new cases are being diagnosed.

Diagnosed diabetes cases was the only thing asked about in the report. Considering an estimated 1 in 4 diabetics have not yet been diagnosed, the problem is most likely underestimated.

More than 260,000 adults were involved in the study which used a random-digit-dialed survey. The participants were asked if they were diagnosed with having diabetes and when the diagnosis was given.

The yearly rate of new diabetes cases climbed from nearly 5 per 1,000 in the mid-1990s to 9 per 1,000 in the mid-2000s. This data was gathered from 33 states for which CDC had complete data for both periods of time.

The researchers were able to get data for 40 states for the years 2005-07. South Carolina, West Virginia, Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Tennessee had the highest rates, all at 11 per 1,000 or more.