…by Gloria May, M.S., R.N., CHES…
Did you know that Elvis was diabetic? How about Mae West, Menachem Begin, or Howard Hughes? Indeed they all were, according to The New York Historical Society which is currently is featuring an exhibit on the discovery of insulin.
Then there’s Larry King, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Andrew Lloyd Weber, and James Cagney, Thomas Edison, Anwar Sadat, Elizabeth Taylor, and Arthur Ashe. The exhibit’s photo walls do well to illustrate the point that fame and celebrity do not buy a pass from diabetes.
Diabetes affects how our bodies change the food we eat into the fuel our cells need for growth and energy. In order to do this, we need insulin, a hormone manufactured in specialized cells in the pancreas. In diabetes, either the pancreas produces no insulin, not enough insulin, or our cells do not respond properly to it. This results in glucose (blood sugar) build-up in the bloodstream where it goes on to create both short-term and long-term dire consequences.
The Society’s presentation calls insulin the “First Miracle Drug” because its discovery in 1921 (a few years before penicillin) and subsequent successful manufacturing and distribution turned a sure-fire and rapidly fatal childhood illness into a chronic manageable malady that afforded a more normal lifespan.
The exhibit emphasizes another “first” of insulin therapy: the transfer of responsibility of disease management from doctor to patient. Back in the 1920s, the concept of patients checking their own glucose levels, calculating the amount of insulin needed, and then administering the correct treatment, represented a startling shift of power in the doctor/patient relationship.
But for all good news about diabetes treatment post 1921 and the amazing display of the latest technological advances in both glucose level testing and insulin administration, the exhibit made clear that this is a battle we have not won. In fact, it is one we are definitely losing. Today, approximately 1 in 10 Americans has diabetes. By 2050, that number is expected to be 1 in 3.
Diabetics are:
• twice as likely to have heart disease or suffer a stroke.
• at increased risk for kidney failure.
• more likely to develop nerve damage that can affect every organ system including the reproductive one. (Think erectile dysfunction.)
• at an increased risk for blindness. Diabetic retinopathy causes most of the cases of adult blindness in the United States.
• 15 to 40 times more likely to require lower-limb amputation compared to the general population.
• more likely to suffer an impaired ability to heal from even the most minor wound or infection.
In addition to those 20 million already diagnosed diabetics in the United States, there are 50 million or so “pre-diabetics” meaning their blood sugar is higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetic. Studies have shown that pre-diabetics have a 40% chance of developing true diabetes within 10 years.
But the good news is that small changes can greatly reduce the odds of this happening. Walking 30 to 40 minutes a day and losing as little as 5-7% of your weight can lower the risk of developing diabetes by greater than half.
If your doctor hasn’t already talked to you about your particular risk factors for developing diabetes (age, race, and family history are part of the picture as well), and what steps you can take to avoid this ravaging disease, take the lead and ask.
Gloria May is a registered nurse with a master’s degree in health education and a Certified Health Education Specialist designation.
This article first appeared in the November 2010 issue of Northwest Prime Time, the Puget Sound region’s publication celebrating life after 50. For more information, visit www.northwestprimetime.com
