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Introduction
Type 2 diabetes is a disease that has been affecting many people, both young and old, in recent years. This disease emanates from chronic conditions arising from the inability of the pancreas to produce enough insulin into the bloodstream, leading to excess glucose and other sugars in the body. Here, the body fails to regulate the amount and movement of blood sugar in the bloodstream. Generally, the cost of treatment has always been one of the factors that hinder proper treatment and mitigation of T2D. However, various preventive interventions could be very helpful in managing the occurrence of the disease, especially in relation to psychological proliferation. This paper will discuss the social, behavioral, and psychological causes of type 2 diabetes (T2D) in contemporary society. Specifically, the paper will do a comparison of T2D in the U.S and other developed countries, including its development, proliferation, and the mitigation measures put in place.
Social causes of type 2 Diabetes
To begin with, the disease usually develops when the pancreas fails to secrete sufficient insulin in the body, leading to unregulated blood sugar. This may be due to social factors such as lack of exercise and bad eating habits that can lead to overweight. Generally, when insulin is produced by the pancreas, it is released into the bloodstream where it circulates while regulating sugar in the blood cells. Here, Insulin lowers blood sugar when it is high by converting it into glycogen and other fatty acids. Alternatively, when the sugar level in the body is low, insulin converts glycogen in the body into glucose, thus raising the level of blood sugar. Since glucose in the body is derived from the foods that are converted and stored in the liver, it is important the social eating habits of most individuals be controlled to regulate body weight; indeed, this has been found to be one of the main causes of type2 Diabetes.
Behavioral causes of type 2 Diabetes
Several behavioral factors lead to the disease, one of them being excessive drinking of alcohol. Generally, alcohol is made from barley and sugar, which tend to be deposited in the body if consumed in excess. Again, other behaviors such as fear of taking medications as prescribed by the doctor can increase the incidences of the disease. Therefore, proper behaviors should be adopted in order to contain the proliferation of the disease.
Psychological cause of type 2 Diabetes
Research has established that stress and depression are some of the factors that affect insulin and blood sugar regulation in the body. According to Koppes et al. (2006), an investigation on individuals having T2D in the U.S found that most of them were having it due to stress and depression; indeed, the authors noted that those suffering from depression and stress were more likely to get the disease than those who practice stress-free life and proper self-management practices. Therefore, family social support and counseling may be of critical importance in alleviating social stress as well as the occurrence of the disease.
The development of type 2 Diabetes in U. S
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2012), statistics for years 2007-2009 show that the rate of diabetes increases with age; indeed, people over 65 years recorded an 18.9% rate while those between 20 years and 44 years rated at 2.6%. Moreover, in relation to ethnicity, Native Americans and American Indians exhibited the highest rate at 16.1% prevalence followed by non-Hispanic blacks at 12.6%, while non-Hispanic whites recorded the lowest at 7.1%. The above statistics show that the proliferation of type 2 diabetes is dependent on the age group and ethnicity of a person. In relation to specific states, statistics for the year 2010 show South Carolina recording a 9.9% rate of adults over 18 years who are diagnosed with T2D (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). This rate is above the US national rate that stands at 8.3% as per the 2010 statistics. However, the rate of adults who have ever been informed of having the risk of diabetes in the future in South Carolina stands at 6.6%, which is below the US national rate at 10% according to 2010 statistics. of people in the U.S have diabetes. Out of these, the majority are people aged 20 years to 64 years, accounting for 11.3% of all people in this age group. Again, from 65 years and above, 26.9% of all the people in this age group were found to be having diabetes (Skinner, John, and Hampson, 2000). In addition, the prevalence of the disease is skewed towards men, with the study revealing that more men were found to be suffering from diabetes than women are.
Lastly, only 0.26 of the people younger than 20 years were found with the disease.
Therefore, it is clear from the above data that the older generation is more affected by diabetes in the U.S than the younger generation. Again, from the data, it is also clear that more men are affected and are having the disease than women. In a comparison of the disease in the U.S and other developed countries, it was found that there are more incidences of diabetes in the U.S than in other developed countries for example Canada (Sultan, et al., 2008).
Cost of Treating T2D and Steps to Address Psychological Proliferation
Diabetes is one of the most expensive diseases to treat, mainly due to consistent visits to health care centers and medication. Therefore, medical health insurance plays a big role in eliminating financial stress from people at risk of T2D. In the US, the annual cost of treating diabetes averaged at over 113 billion dollars as per 2007 statistics; indeed, these costs are expected to increase to around 226 billion in 2030 (Huang, Basu, O’Grady, and Capretta, 2009). In South Carolina, the cost of treating diabetes stood at over 5 billion dollars in 2012 against US national costs of 245 billion dollars; this is an equivalent of over 2% (American Diabetes Association, 2013). Generally, the Psychological proliferation of T2D could be addressed through various steps aimed at eliminating psychological stressors.
The first step is to enhance coping skills (Steed, Cooke, & Newman, 2003) for dealing with events that cause stress, especially in persons who have been diagnosed with diabetes or have a risk of contracting diabetes. This could involve providing counseling services that would incorporate training on assertiveness, anger management, and social integration as ways of fighting psychological stressors. The next step would be to encourage community members to provide peer and family support (Steed, Cooke, & Newman, 2003) to persons suffering or at risk of suffering from diabetes; this would give them peace of mind and a feeling of belonging. Thirdly, exercise programs would need to be drawn and followed consistently in order to help in mind and physical fitness. Here, sports events and team sponsorships in the community would play a vital role in ensuring that people are always occupied and have a chance to interact; indeed, stress emanates mainly from boredom. Other exercise disciplines targeting psychological health would include meditation and yoga lessons to the members of the community.
The fourth step would involve community education aimed at enhancing knowledge and self-efficacy would be encouraged. Here, seminars, door-to-door blood sugar testing campaigns and health forums would be undertaken to create awareness of the risk factors and management of T2D. In addition, community groups would be formed and provided with psycho-education on early recognition of stress-induced risks of T2D and effective management of the disease. Lastly, liaising with organizations and agencies that provide health solutions to communities would be encouraged. These agencies include National Diabetes Education Program, community transformation grant program, national Institute of Health, Indian Health Service, and Minority Health Program, all of which work towards creating awareness and providing both financial and psychosocial support to the community.
Steps to Address Diabetes in Workplace
There are various steps to take into account in addressing T2D in workplace in order to maintain a healthy workforce. The first step is to conduct a survey on employees in order to assess the risk or status in relation to T2D; this will also involve blood sugar testing. Another step would involve developing programs that will educate employees on lifestyle change as an intervention to T2D (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). Here, programs targeting nutrition and physical activity would be important. Thirdly, a community education program that will also include employees would be drawn to enhance self-management as a way of controlling the proliferation of type 2 diabetes. In this approach, self-management education training would enhance healthy eating, consistent exercising, and regular blood sugar monitoring in order to improve quality of life. A disease management program that focuses on those who are already diagnosed with the disease would also be another intervention step; this will enhance health care delivery by a team of professionals either from nearby health care centers or a permanent unit within the workplace that deals with health matters, especially chronic diseases like T2D. The next step would involve offering employees on-site heath care services, including vaccinations on related health conditions such as influenza and pneumonia, which are usually fatal. Although vaccinations can be offered at any health center, they tend to be very effective and reliable when offered in workplace on regular intervals. Lastly, the administration may organize forums and seminars to be addressed by diabetes prevention and management agencies such Diabetes Education Program in order to create awareness and impart knowledge to all employees in the workplace.
From the above steps, I would recommend the use of multifaceted lifestyle programs. These programs train employees on dietary habits such as avoiding foods with high cholesterol, excess consumption of alcohol and cigarette smoking, all of which are known to exacerbate T2D conditions. In addition, these programs provide exercise and counseling sessions in order to eliminate physical and psychological stressors that may contribute to proliferation of T2D.
Conclusion
This paper has discussed the various causes of type2 diabetes, among them being behavioral, social, and psychological. In addition, the paper has discussed some of the symptoms of the disease and found out that frequent urination and feeling thirsty are some of the common symptoms. Generally, malfunction of the pancreas contributes significantly to the proliferation of T2D, as less insulin is secreted. Nevertheless, proper diet, healthy living lifestyle, and physical exercise have been recommended as appropriate preventive measures of the disease. Lastly, the paper has established that older generation is more likely to suffer from T2D than younger generation due to some of the factors discussed above.
References
American Diabetes Association. (2013). The Burden of Diabetes in South Carolina. American Diabetes Association. Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Diabetes report Card 2012. Web.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2013) Workplace Health Promotion. Web.
Huang, E., Basu, A., O’grady, M., & Capretta, J. (2009). Projecting the Future Diabetes Population Size and Related Costs for the U.S. Diabetes Care, Volume 32(12), 2225-2229.
Koppes, L. L., Dekker, J. M., Hendriks, H. F., Bouter, L. M., & Heine, R. J. (2006). Meta-analysis of the relationship between alcohol consumption and coronary heart disease and mortality in type 2 diabetic patients. Diabetologia, 49(4) 648-652.
Skinner, T. C., John, M., & Hampson, S. E. (2000). Social support and personal models of diabetes as predictors of self-care and well-being: a longitudinal study of adolescents with diabetes. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 25(4), 257–267.
Steed L, Cooke D, Newman S. (2003). A systematic review of psychosocial outcomes following education, self-management and psychological interventions in diabetes mellitus. Patient Educ Couns, 51(1):5-15.
Sultan, S., Epel, E., Sachon, C., Vaillant, G., & Hartemann-Heurtier, A. (2008). A longitudinal study of coping, anxiety and glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes. Psychology & Health,23(1), 73-89.
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