Diabetes Management: Complications, Prevention and Control

Diabetes is a chronic condition that needs to be managed effectively to prevent complications. This paper discusses the prevalence of diabetes in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the importance of educating people about the risk factors and screening. It also provides a flyer with tips on controlling ABC parameters and ways to manage diabetes effectively.

Running head: DIABETES MANAGEMENT
DIABETES MANAGEMENT
Name of the student:
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Introduction:
Diabetes is the disorder that mainly describes the metabolic diseases where affected
individuals are seen to have high blood pressure. The main reason for this occurrence may be
because of the lessened amount of insulin production or may be due to the cells of the body not
responding to insulin (Bukish et al., 2018).
This disorder is a chronic condition that needs to be managed effectively by the affected
individuals to prevent any negative outcomes on their health. A huge number of complications
can take place when blood glucose level is not managed effectively. Eye complications like
glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and many others can take place. Different types of foot
complications can also occur like that of neuropathy, ulcers and is some severe situations
gangrene my take place that might require the foot to be amputated. Other types of complications
that may also arise are the skin complications (Kim & Lee, 2016). People who suffer from
diabetes become more susceptible towards skin infections as well as other skin disorder. Heart
problems that may also affect the diabetic individuals are the ischemic heart disorders when the
blood supply to the heart muscles is diminished. Hypertension is also found to be common on
people with diabetes. This aspect can in turn increase the risk of the kidney disorders in the
patients along with the eye problems, heart attack and even stroke.
Mental health disorders can also occur. Researchers are of the opinion that uncontrolled
diabetes increases the risk of suffering from depression, anxiety and many other mental health
disorders. Moreover, they also remain exposed to different types of hearing issues. Higher
prevalence of gum disorder is also present among the diabetes patients. They also suffer from
gastro-paresis as the muscles of the stomach may stop working in the appropriate manner.

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Ketoacidosis is also highly common. This situation is mainly a combination of ketosis and
acidosis that is actually an accumulation of ketone bodies and acidity in the blood. Neuropathy is
another form of complication where different type severe damage takes place leading to various
forms of physiological disorders (Twigg et al., 2017). Nephropathy can result from uncontrolled
blood pressure causing kidney disorders. Studies also suggest that when blood glucose levels are
not controlled along with uncontrolled cholesterol levels and blood pressure, the risks of stroke
increase by many folds. Different types of other complications that also arise are the erectile
dysfunction, becoming more susceptible to infections and healing of the wounds becoming more
difficult.
Due to the above-mentioned complications that affect the quality of living of the people,
affected individuals need to be very careful and manage their symptoms effectively. The
population who is selected to study the prevalence rate and to educate them to manage the
disorder properly is the affected and vulnerable people of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Studies are of the
opinion that diabetes is one of the Oklahoma’s most severe health epidemics. This region has the
seventh highest type-2 diabetes rate in the nation. Between the year 1995 and 2010, the rate of
the diabetes affected patients increased by 226%. This region has a diabetes rate of about 11%
and the state has the fourth highest death rate from Diabetes in the United States. In the year
2011, about $185 million was spent on the diabetes related hospital admissions in the region
(Dunkley et al., 2014).
Different reports are of the opinion that Oklahomans are increasingly feeling the negative
outcomes of diabetes. Many individuals in the nation are not even aware that they are suffering
from diabetes. In Oklahoma, approximately 451,888 are affected by the disorder. About 14.3%

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of the adult populations are having diabetes. Moreover, 1,036,000 people in the region of
Oklahoma accounting for about 36.9% of the adult population are suffering from pre-diabetes.
Therefore, it is very important for the healthcare professionals working in the region to
educate the people about the different risk factors that result in development of diabetes. It is
important for the population to be aware about the initiatives that they need to take prevent the
development of the disorder and undertake effective screening (Dambhla et al., 2017). Besides
preventative measures, curative measures like maintaining proper diet and lifestyles are
important and these aspects need to be educated to patients through an attractive flyer.

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DIABETES PREVENTION FLYER
Important “ABC” elements to keep themselves
safe:
 A is A1C – A1C is a blood test where
individuals will be able to get an idea
about the average blood pressure that is
resent over the three months
 B is blood pressure – high blood
pressure may put diabetes patients at
increased risk for stroke, heart attack,
and kidney disorder; therefore blood
pressure needs to be maintained
 C is cholesterol – this is a waxy
substance and is present in heart; high
value of cholesterol in diabetes patients
expose them to high risks of strokes,
heart attacks and other serious problems.
Targets that should be maintained by diabetic
patients are
 A1C levels should be low than 7%
 Blood pressure should be below 140/90
or lower
 LDL cholesterol should be below 100
(LDL is a form of cholesterol which is
referred to as the “bad cholesterol”.
Importance of maintaining the ABC:
 People with diabetes remain at increased
risk of being affected by stroke, heart
attack, kidney disorder and others in
comparison to those who do not have
diabetes
 The risk increases by 2 to 3 folds and
therefore keeping the three parameters
below the concerning level is important
Different complications of diabetes:
 Eye disorders
 Amputation and gangrene of different
arts like toe, fingers, limbs and many
other parts
 Kidney disorder

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 Nerve damage
 Mental disorders like depression and
anxiety
 Issues in wound healing
Ways of controlling the ABC parameters
 Medicines –
 taking of medications as
prescribed without missing
doses for blood sugar
 checking the blood sugar level
everyday
 taking medication for high
blood pressure and blood
cholesterol
 taking insulin therapy as
prescribed
 changes in lifestyles –
 Making healthy food choices –
 Fruits, vegetables,
whole grains, and low-
fat dairy products.
 Limiting the amount of
meat and fatty foods
 Being active most of the time –
 Walking
 Gardening
 Doing something active
for about 30 minutes or
more on most of the
days
 Stop smoking as it increases the
chance of heart attack
 Losing weight as being
overweight increases the risk of
many health problems
 Avoiding alcohol as it can
increase blood sugar and blood
pressure.

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References:
Bukhsh, A., Khan, T. M., Lee, S., Lee, L. H., FASc, C., Gan, K., & Goh, B. H. (2018). Efficacy
of pharmacist based diabetes educational interventions on clinical outcomes of adults
with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A network meta-analysis. Frontiers in pharmacology, 9,
339.
Dambha‐Miller, H., Cooper, A. J., Kinmonth, A. L., & Griffin, S. J. (2017). Effect on
cardiovascular disease risk factors of interventions to alter consultations between
practitioners and patients with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of
trials in primary care. Health Expectations, 20(6), 1218-1227.
Dunkley, A. J., Bodicoat, D. H., Greaves, C. J., Russell, C., Yates, T., Davies, M. J., & Khunti,
K. (2014). Diabetes prevention in the real world: effectiveness of pragmatic lifestyle
interventions for the prevention of type 2 diabetes and of the impact of adherence to
guideline recommendations: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetes care, 37(4),
922-933.
Kim, S. H., & Lee, A. (2016). Health‐literacy‐sensitive diabetes self‐management interventions:
a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Worldviews on Evidence
‐Based Nursing, 13(4),
324-333.

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Twigg, G., Motsko, J., Thomas, J., & David, T. (2017). Pharmacist-Managed Diabetes Center
Interventions Ensure Quality and Safety in Elderly Patients. The Consultant
Pharmacist®, 32(5), 299-310.