Diabetes Chapter Outline Essay

Kendra Jurist
Critical Issues D14D
5/6/2011

Study Guide Outline
Chapter 10 – Diabetes
The objective of chapter ten is to focus on what public health experts describe as the fastest-growing chronic disease among Americans today – diabetes.
    • Diabetes
        o Diabetes – or technically diabetes mellitus – is a group of disorders characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from diabetes in insulin production, insulin action, or both.
        o Hyperglycemia is high blood glucose levels and is the hallmark of uncontrolled diabetes.
        o Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas that helps glucose pass into the cells where it can be used for energy.
        o Type 1 diabetes develops during childhood or young adulthood due to pancreatic beta cell destruction. This for includes cases due to and autoimmune process and those with unknown etiology.
        o Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, encompasses cases that range from an inability to make enough insulin (secretory defect) to an inability to use the insulin that is made (insulin resistance).
        o Gestational diabetes is diabetes that first appears during pregnancy; it affects about 4% of pregnant women.
        o Pre-diabetes is a borderline condition in which the blood glucose level is between normal and diabetic levels.
    • Complications
        o Possible side effects of diabetes if not properly treated:
              ▪ Damage to blood vessels
              ▪ Heart attack or stroke
              ▪ Eye disease and blindness
              ▪ Kidney disease
              ▪ Nerve damage
              ▪ Amputation
    • Diagnoses and Control
        o As many as 25 percent of people with type 2 diabetes are unaware that they have it.
        o Hypoglycemia is low blood glucose levels and can occur as a side effect of diabetes treatment.
        o Ketoacidosis is a life-threatening condition requiring immediate treatment; it is associated...