Today over 26 million Americans (8 percent of the population) have diabetes. Estimates indicate that another 7 million Americans may be unaware they have the disease. In 2007, the Center for Disease Control characterized the rise in Type 2 diabetes an epidemic - it is still characterized as such.
Diabetes is currently the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. and new global research indicates that diabetes can shorten a person’s life expectancy by six years. In comparison, smoking is estimated to shorten a person’s life by 10 years.
For some time, researchers have been aware of the toll diabetes takes on one’s heart - high blood sugar can damage blood vessels and nerves leading to heart disease and a higher risk of heart attack or stroke. But according to the research published in the New England Journal of Medicine in March 2011, new studies that examined medical information from over 820,000 people in Europe and North America indicate that diabetes can cause a wide range of other medical conditions. Over the 13 ½ years the participants were followed, more than 123,000 participants died; most of the participants had Type 2 diabetes.
According to the study, the participants with diabetes were two times as likely to die from a heart attack or stroke than those without diabetes. They also had increased death rates from infections, pneumonia, lung and kidney disease and falls. They were 25 percent more likely to die from breast cancer and their risk was doubled for liver cancer. It was also noted that diabetics had a greater tendency to suffer from depression and commit suicide.
Researchers have not yet determined why diabetes has the above effects, but researchers do recommend cancer screenings for those with diabetes and emphasize the need to treat and prevent diabetes.
The symptoms of diabetes may be rather nonspecific and diagnosis may take a while. With Type 1 diabetics, the initial presentation of the disease may be rather rapid with significant illness. Many new onset diabetics present to the emergency department after a few days of a flu-like illness, including nausea, vomiting, and severe dehydration. Their blood sugar may be up over 1000 mg/dl, with normal being 100 mg/dl. This is an emergency situation that requires rehydration, control of sugars, and infusion of electrolytes while hospitalized. Left untreated, this patient can die.
Type 2 diabetics usually have a presentation that is slow and may be monitored over a few years. The usual Type 2 diabetic symptoms may include increased thirst, increased urination, weight loss, fatigue, poor healing wounds, and visual changes. Fasting blood glucose levels are usually over 110 mg/dl. Many times, weight loss will cure the problem. With more severe cases, a variety of oral medications can be taken to address the problem. There are a few cases that require both oral medications and shots of insulin.
One of the more common viral infections in school-age children is Fifth disease. The classic sign is a red rash that makes your child’s cheeks look unusually red - as if they’ve been slapped. The rash can take on a lacy appearance and usually within one day will begin to spread to other parts of the body - arms, legs and abdomen. As the rash fades over the next 7 to 14 days, it tends to fade from the center outwards.
Other symptoms of Fifth disease include fever, joint pain and temporary anemia. If the child experiences discomfort, acetaminophen (not aspirin) can be given to the child.
Caused by human parvovirus B19, Fifth disease is generally mild and doesn’t tend to cause complications in healthy children. However, pregnant women who have been exposed to someone with Fifth disease, or who exhibit the lacy red rash, should see their physician because parvovirus B19 can harm an unborn baby.
Most adults do not contract Fifth disease because they have been exposed to it earlier in their life and have developed antibodies. The disease most often affects preschool and school-age children and is easily spread when someone coughs or sneezes.
In some cases children may develop the rash again when exposed to sunlight, stress, excessive heat, exercise or have a fever.
The obesity epidemic that currently plagues American youth has many far-reaching repercussions. Not only is it leading to an increased risk and rate of diabetes and kidney disease, but it’s also associated with arthritis. New research shows that 1 in 5 young adult Americans (ages 24-32) has high blood pressure — and many of them don’t even realize they do. That complicates things because if the youth is unaware of the condition, they can’t take steps to improve their health. The new survey that revealed these results followed a group of kids ages 12 - 19 starting in 1995. When these youngsters were first being tracked, 11% of them were obese. Just five years later, 22% of them were obese. By 2008, 37% of them were obese and another 30% were overweight — for a total of 67% of this group. It is an alarming trend — and they’re only in their early 20s.
It’s up to parents and children to reverse this trend. Limit computer and video game time. Encourage outdoor recreation that gets your kids moving. Eliminate soda and limit sweetened drinks. Eliminate fast food, or cut back severely. Remember parents, you are the role model for your child. And while it may be difficult to make fresh meals and get kids to eat their fruits and veggies, consider the consequences on your child’s long-term well-being if you do not. Hypertension. Diabetes. Arthritis. Kidney disease. The list goes on and on. And researchers are seeing these conditions in youth who are only in their early 20s.
According to new research, caffeinated and non-caffeinated coffee can help prevent the most deadly form of prostate cancer. The results from Harvard University’s research are pretty impressive. Researchers followed 50,000 men for 20 years. Of those numbers, 5,000 men got prostate cancer and over 600 got the most deadly form of it. What the researchers found is that the men who drank the most coffee were most likely to get the deadly form of prostate cancer — their risk was 60% less than men who didn’t drink coffee. Men who drank at least 6 cups of coffee daily had a 60% risk reduction; those who drank 3 cups had a 30% reduction.
Researchers also noted that they saw the same results whether the coffee was caffeinated or decaffeinated. Thus, caffeine is not the beneficial ingredient. Other research has shown that coffee can help prevent Parkinsons’ Disease, diabetes and liver disease. Coffee is an anti-oxidant that can help lower insulin levels.
Of note, the study also found that weekly exercise (walking 2-3 times a week was sufficient) also reduced the risk of dying from prostate cancer — by 50%.
If you were to ask your friends whether they were “night owls” or “early birds” you might just find that women and men answer differently. New research in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” shows that men and women tend to have different circadian rhythms. Specifically, women tend to have “faster clocks.” That means women tend to be early risers.
Every one of us has a unique circadian rhythm - think of it as your own internal biological clock. This “clock” has an effect on your sleeping and eating patterns; it is also associated with cycles of brain wave activity, hormone production and other biological activities.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital placed subjects into a windowless sleep lab for eight weeks. This was done because the environment around you also plays a role on your circadian rhythm - specifically the amount of light or dark. By placing the research subjects in these windowless rooms, each person’s natural circadian rhythm became evident. On average, women’s clocks were six minutes shorter. It may not seem like much, but those minutes add up. Some women had a daily cycle that was less than 24 hours.
According to the researchers, if you have a shorter clock, you need to block out light that can interfere with your sleep. If your cycle is longer than 24 hours, you need to be certain early morning light streams in to get you going in the morning.
Many women probably aren’t getting enough sleep -that may, in fact, be fighting their own inner clock.
So why does all this matter? Well, sleep plays an important role in your health. The role between sleep and your immune system is complicated. Prolonged sleep deprivation can compromise your immune system’s ability to fight off illness, but losing a little sleep here and there may actually be beneficial. When you are ill, however, it’s a common response to sleep for extended periods. Research has found that non-REM sleep tends to increase when you’re ill.
When you are asleep:
- Your body works to repair itself, producing extra protein molecules that are important to fighting infection.
- You give your cardiovascular system a much-needed break from stress and inflammation.
- Your brain takes the day’s events and organizes them - this leads to clearer thinking in the morning.
- Your body is regulating the hormones that affect your appetite. Research shows that those who are sleep-deprived can have hormonal imbalances that cause them to eat calorie-rich fats and carbohydrates. This can lead to obesity.
- You help your body better process glucose, thus reducing your risk for diabetes type 2.
Sleeping like eating, drinking and exercising - you need it to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
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