Diabetes

Diabetes Education Program and Diabetes Counselling

Squamish General Hospital
38140 Brehner Dr.
Box 6000
Squamish, BC
for more information call 892-5211

They offer diet counselling, individual diabetes counselling,
group counselling and educational days.

 

Important information about Diabetes

Symptoms

Some of the most obvious symptoms are as follows:

But remember there are many symptoms, if in doubt be checked out by a medical professional.

Detection

Diabetes increases the risk of heart and blood vessel disease, amputation, infections, kidney damage, eye problems (including blindness), and nerve malfunction. Most think they will develop obvious symptoms if they are diabetic, but this is not always true. Undetected diabetes can be a serious problem. High risk groups include the overweight, those with a family history of diabetes, and certain ethnic groups.

 

Deaths

•In 1993, about 400,000 deaths from all causes are estimated to have occurred among persons aged 25 years and older who have diabetes. This figure represents 5 percent of all persons known to have diabetes and 18 percent of all deaths in the United States in persons aged 25 years and older. •Based on death certificate data, diabetes contributed to the deaths of more than 169,000 persons in 1992. It is well known that death certificate data underrepresent diabetes deaths. •Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death listed on U.S. death certificates in 1993, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. It is the sixth leading cause of death by disease. These statistics are for the United States only, Canada's are probably as scary. Check out about diabetes on the Internet. There are many informative sites.

 

Treatment for Diabetes

Treatment emphasizes control of blood glucose through blood glucose monitoring, regular physical activity, meal planning, and attention to relevant medical and psychosocial factors. In many patients, oral medications and/or insulin injections are also required for appropriate glucose control. Treatment of diabetes is an ongoing process that is planned and regularly reassessed by the health care team, the person with diabetes, and his or her family. Patient and family education are important parts of the process.

 

Long-Term Complications

 

Heart Disease

•Cardiovascular disease is 2 to 4 times more common among persons with diabetes.
•Cardiovascular disease is present in 75 percent of diabetes-related deaths.
•Middle-aged psons with diabetes have death rates twice as high and heart disease death rates about 2 to 4 times as high as middle-aged persons without diabetes.

Stroke

•The risk of stroke is 2 to 4 times higher among persons with diabetes.

High blood pressure

•An estimated 60 to 65 percent of persons with diabetes have high blood pressure.

Blindness

•Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults 20 to 74 years of age. •Diabetic retinopathy causes from 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness per year.

Kidney disease (treatment by dialysis or transplantation)

•Diabetes is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease, accounting for 36 percent of new cases. •19,790 new cases occurred in 1992 in people with diabetes. •56,059 people with diabetes were undergoing dialysis or transplantation treatment in 1992.

Nerve disease

•About 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of diabetic nerve damage (with such manifestations as impaired sensation in the feet or hands, delayed stomach emptying, carpal tunnel syndrome, peripheral neuropathy).
•Severe forms of diabetic nerve disease are a major contributing cause of lower extremity amputations.

Amputations

•More than half of lower limb amputations in the United States occur among persons with diabetes; from 1989 to 1992, the average number of amputations performed each year among persons with diabetes was 54,000.

Dental disease

•Periodontal disease, which can lead to tooth loss, occurs with greater frequency and severity among persons with diabetes.
•The rate of tooth loss is 15 times higher than among those without diabetes.
 

Pregnancy

•The rate of major congenital malformations in babies born to women with preexisting diabetes varies from 0 to 5 percent in women who receive preconception care to 10 percent in women who do not receive preconception care.
•Three to 5 percent of pregnancies in women with diabetes result in death of the newborn; this compares to a rate of 1.5 percent for women who do not have diabetes.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes develops in some pregnant women; the condition disappears when the pregnancy is over.

•Gestational diabetes occurs in 2 to 5 percent of pregnancies and at higher rates among African Americans, Hispanics/Latino Americans, and American Indians (rates in American Indians range from 1 to 14 percent).

Impaired Glucose Tolerance

Impaired Glucose Tolerance (IGT) refers to a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes (between 140 to 199 mg/dl in a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test).

 

These organizations collaborated in compiling the information upon which this fact sheet is based:

•American Association of Diabetes Educators •American Diabetes Association •Centers for Disease Control and Prevention •Department of Veterans Affairs •Health Resources and Services Administration •Indian Health Service •Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International •National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease of the National Institutes of Health

 

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