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Senior Citizen Health & Medicine
Diabetes Patients
Fixate on Blood Sugar and Neglect What May Kill Them
Most die from heart
disease and should focus on cholesterol, other protection
Aug. 20, 2007
Diabetes is high on the radar for senior citizens, who are well aware of
the increase of this chronic and deadly disease, and
because few do not have friends whose lives have been forever negatively
changed the rituals of diabetes care and management. Although high blood
pressure and arthritis are the most prominent chronic conditions for
older Americans, type 2 diabetes, apparently fueled by the obesity
epidemic, is the fastest growing. The New York Times focused several
reports today on this disease.
New York Times
Examines Shortcomings in Diabetes Care
In the latest installment of a series profiling the
leading causes of death in the U.S., the
New York Times on Monday examined diabetes -- the
fifth-leading cause of death behind heart disease, cancer, stroke and
pulmonary disease.
Almost 73,000 U.S. residents die from diabetes
annually.
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Upon diagnosis, many patients with diabetes become
"fixated" on controlling their blood sugar levels and neglect the need
to lower their cholesterol level and take other steps to protect against
heart disease, "which eventually kills nearly everyone with diabetes,"
according to the
Times.
A survey conducted by RoperASW for the
American Diabetes Association
showed that 18% of people with diabetes were aware of their increased
risk for cardiovascular disease.
According to
CDC, only 7% of diabetes
patients are receiving all the treatments they should have, including
statins, blood pressure drugs, aspirin, insulin and drugs to lower blood
sugar. In part, the "fault for the missed opportunities to prevent
complications and deaths lies with the medical system," according to the
Times.
Most diabetics are treated by primary care doctors
who have received a few hours of training in diabetes while in medical
school. These doctors often spend just a few minutes with diabetes
patients, far less than such a complex condition requires, according to
the Times.
In addition, drug advertisements tend to emphasize
treatments to control blood sugar levels, which are expensive and have
not been proven effective in saving lives. Meanwhile, public health
campaigns often inaccurately portray diabetes as a result of improper
diet and a sedentary lifestyle and promote the belief that losing weight
is the best way to combat the condition.
The
Times
notes that most diabetics "try hard but are unable to control their
disease in this way, and most of the time it progresses as years go by,
no matter what patients do" (Kolata [1],
New York Times,
8/20).
Related Articles
The
Times
on Monday also published three articles about treating and diagnosing
diabetes.
● Care management: "Despite the fact
that almost 20% of all health care dollars are spent on the management
of people with diabetes, the diabetes epidemic and its associated pain
and suffering grow and grow," according to John Buse, president-elect
for science and medicine at the American Diabetes Association. Buse
offered five pieces of information that all diabetics should have (New
York Times, 8/20).
● Contributing factors: Although the
"havoc diabetes wreaks is clear ... researchers are puzzled by many
aspects of the disease," including the role that obesity plays in its
development and the ways in which high blood sugar levels lead to
complications of diabetes, including heart disease, stroke and damage to
the nerves, kidneys and eyes, the
Times reports (Kolata [2],
New York Times,
8/20).
● Statistics: The number of U.S.
residents diagnosed with diabetes increased 61% from 1991 to 2001,
according to CDC. The agency also noted a 74% increase in obesity during
the same time period, "reflecting the strong correlation between obesity
and the development of diabetes." However, those numbers "may or may not
reveal that the actual number of people with diabetes has exploded," the
Times reports, adding, "It may just be that more
people are learning they have the disease, not that the number of those
with it is increasing" (Kolata [3],
New York Times,
8/20).
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