WHSIC Consumer Health

	Wegner Health Science Information Center Consumer Health Digital Library

Description - from the Center for Disease Control

Most of the food we eat is turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. When you have diabetes, your body either doesn't make enough insulin or can't use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugars to build up in your blood.

Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States.

People who think they might have diabetes must visit a physician for diagnosis. They might have SOME or NONE of the following symptoms:

Frequent urination
Excessive thirst
Unexplained weight loss
Extreme hunger
Sudden vision changes
Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
Feeling very tired much of the time
Very dry skin
Sores that are slow to heal
More infections than usual.

Nausea, vomiting, or stomach pains may accompany some of these symptoms in the abrupt onset of insulin-dependent diabetes, now called type 1 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes was previously called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) or juvenile-onset diabetes. Type 1 diabetes may account for 5% to 10% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Risk factors are less well defined for type 1 diabetes than for type 2 diabetes, but autoimmune, genetic, and environmental factors are involved in the development of this type of diabetes. Treatment of type 1 diabetes: Lack of insulin production by the pancreas makes type 1 diabetes particularly difficult to control. Treatment requires a strict regimen that typically includes a carefully calculated diet, planned physical activity, home blood glucose testing several times a day, and multiple daily insulin injections.

Type 2 diabetes was previously called non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) or adult-onset diabetes. Type 2 diabetes may account for about 90% to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes include older age, obesity, family history of diabetes, prior history of gestational diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, physical inactivity, and race/ethnicity. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and some Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes. Treatment of type 2 diabetes: Treatment typically includes diet control, exercise, home blood glucose testing, and in some cases, oral medication and/or insulin. Approximately 40% of people with type 2 diabetes require insulin injections.

Gestational diabetes develops in 2% to 5% of all pregnancies but usually disappears when a pregnancy is over. Gestational diabetes occurs more frequently in African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, and people with a family history of diabetes than in other groups. Obesity is also associated with higher risk. Women who have had gestational diabetes are at increased risk for later developing type 2 diabetes. In some studies, nearly 40% of women with a history of gestational diabetes developed diabetes in the future.

Other specific types of diabetes result from specific genetic syndromes, surgery, drugs, malnutrition, infections, and other illnesses. Such types of diabetes may account for 1% to 2% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes.

Wegner Center Resources

American Diabetes Association Complete Guide to Diabetes: The Ultimate Home Diabetes Reference - Book
Wegner Books WK 810 A512 1999

Handbook of Exercise in Diabetes - Book
Wegner Books WK815 H434 2002

Mayo Clinic on Managing Diabetes - Book
Wegner Books WK 810 M473 2001

Quick & Easy Diabetic Recipes - Book
Wegner Books WB 405 Q6 2002

What To Do When You Have Type 2 Diabetes - Book
Wegner Books WK 810 B562 2002

Homespun Medical Tips - Requires RealAudio

Diabetes
with Dr. Brian Tjarks, Family Practice Physician from Mitchell (September 2001)

Diabetes
with Dr. Richard Barth, Endocrinologist from Sioux Falls, SD (November 2002)

Diabetes
with Dr. Andrew Binamira, Internist from DeSmet, SD (September 2002)

Diabetes in Children
with Dr. Mark Butterbrock, Pediatrician from the Indian Health Service in Porcupine, SD (June 2001)

Diabetes - General Information
with Dr. Herb Saloum, Family Practice Physician from Tyndall, SD (November 2000)

Diabetes - Signs and Symptoms
with Dr. John Berg, Family Practice Physician from DeSmet, SD (July 2001)

Diabetic Retinopathy
with Dr. Michael Moran, Ophthalmologist from Watertown, SD (May 2002)

Web Resources

Diabetes Public Health Resource from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Center for Disease Control
http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes
This site provides a wealth of information and resources on diabetes. The purpose of the side is to: understand the impact diabetes; influence health outcomes; and improve access to quality health care.

National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP)
http://ndep.nih.gov
The NDEP involved public and private partners to improve the treatment and outcomes of people with diabetes, to promote early diagnosis, and to preven the onset of diabetes. The site provides information for consumers as well as health care professionals, school personnel, and business professionals.

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse (NDIC)
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/index.htm
The site provides a gateway to thousands of reference materials produced for patients and healthcare professionals, including fact sheets, brochures, and audiovisual materials - in English and in Spanish.

Current Literature

Diabetes from MEDLINEplus
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/diabetes.html
MEDLINEplus provides extensive information from the a variety of trusted sources, in English and in Spanish.

Medem Medical Library - Diabetes
http://www.medem.com/medlb/medlib_entry.cfm
Medem's award-winning Medical Library represents the full rant of patient education information from medical societies and other trusted sources, and is unsurpassed in quality, breadth and depth of health care information.

Wegner Health Science Information Center

Consumer Health Digital Library