Native Americans and Diabetes Essay examples -- Native Americans Healt

Native Americans and Diabetes Since the arrival of Columbus in 1492, American Indians have been in a continuous struggle with diseases. It may not be small pox anymore, but illnesses are still haunting the native population. According to statistics, Native Americans have much higher rates of disease than the overall population. This includes a higher death rate from alcoholism, tuberculosis, and diabetes than any other racial or ethnic group. Recent studies by Indian health experts show that diabetes among Indian youth ages 15-19 has increased 54% since 1996 and 40% of Indian children are overweight. Even though diabetes rates vary considerably among the Native American population, deaths caused from diabetes are 230 percent greater than the United States population as a whole. Diabetes is an increasing crisis among the Native American population. Diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s ability to produce or respond to insulin, a hormone that allows blood glucose (blood sugar) to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy. Diabetes falls into two main categories: type 1, or juvenile diabetes, which usually occurs during childhood or adolescence, and type 2, or adult-onset diabetes, the most common form of the disease, usually occurring after age 40. Type 1 results from the body’s immune system attacking the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The onset of juvenile diabetes is much higher in the winter than in the summer. This association has been repeatedly confirmed in diabetes research. Type 2 is characterized by â€Å"insulin resistance,† or an inability of the cells to use insulin, sometimes accompanied by a deficiency in insulin production. There is also sometimes a third type of diabetes considered. It is gestational diabetes, which occurs when the body is not able to properly use insulin during pregnancy. Type 2 diabetes encompasses nine out of 10 diabetic cases. Diabetes is the fifth-deadliest disease in the United States, and it has no cure. The total annual economic cost of diabetes in 2002 was estimated to be $132 billion, or one out of every 10 health care dollars spent in the United States. Diabetes risk factors can fall into three major categories: family history, obesity, and impaired glucose tolerance. Minority groups and elderly are at the greatest risk of developing diabetes. Native Americans did not have a p... ....indiancountry.com Ross, Matt. â€Å"Diabetes education with a twist.† Indian Country Today, 22 April 2004; available at http://www.indiancountry.com Reynolds, Jerry. â€Å"Washington in brief.† Indian Country Today, 23 July 2004; available at http://www.indiancountry.com Books and Journals: Jost, Kenneth. â€Å"Diabetes Epidemic: why is this serious disease on the increase?† The CQ Researcher (March 9, 2001): 185-200 IHS National Diabetes Program. Special Diabetes Program for Indians. Available from http://www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/diabetes/resources/congressrprt.pdf, January 200; Internet; accessed 23 November 2004. Sandefur, Gary D., and Ronald R. Rindfuss, and Barney Cohen. Changing Numbers, Changing Needs: American Indian Demography and Public Health. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, 1996. Seiffge-Krenke, Inge. Diabetic Adolescents and Their Families: Stress, Coping, and Adaptation. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Internet Sources: American Diabetes Association, â€Å"Native Americans and Diabetes†; available from http://www.diabetes.org/communityprograms-and-localevents/nativeamericans.jsp; Internet; accessed 11 November 2004.