Diabetes and its Impact on Indigenous Australians

Running head: HEALTHCARE
HEALTHCARE
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Introduction
Diabetes is identified as a prolonged condition indicated by increasing levels of
glucose in the blood. Main forms of diabetes are known as type-1 Diabetes, type-2
diabetes and gestational diabetes. However, the occurrence of diabetes has been
increasing over the last 3 decades, with rates rising three times over this period.
Reports of Chamberlain et al. (2014) have revealed that diabetes has affected around
1.5 million people in 2015–16. Rates of diabetes are commonly complex among males,
the aged and especially Indigenous Australians as well as inhabitants living in
inaccessible and socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. It is important to note that
type 2 diabetes is identified as highly widespread form of disease, thus resulting to be
highly escapable by maintaining a healthy lifestyle (Adegbija, Hoy and Wang 2015). The
gap between the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous
Australians is extensively documented with several policies and health initiatives
working with an aim of improving outcomes. However, regardless of these health
initiatives, the rate of life expectancy tends to be around 10-11 years less in comparison
to non-Indigenous Australians with around 65% of life loss prior to 65 years in
comparison to 19% of deaths in the non‐Indigenous population (Aihw.gov.au 2016). The
following report will evaluate the way diabetes has been affecting Indigenous
Australians by focusing on social determinants which have been implemented for this
health issue.
Discussion
Diabetes as a critical health issue among Indigenous Australians

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Reports of Chamberlain et al. (2016) have revealed that Indigenous adults show
six times more propensity to die from diabetes. Furthermore, Indigenous adolescents
with type-2 diabetes show ten times greater propensity to be hospitalised in comparison
to non‐Indigenous adolescents. Significantly, the age of onset of cardio-metabolic
conditions related to diabetes is significantly younger in Indigenous than in non‐
Indigenous Australians. However, the incidence of these conditions tends to be highly
persistent to increase among Indigenous Australians. Reports of Zimmet (2017) has
revealed that the prevalence of type-2 diabetes among Indigenous young people is not
recognized. Moreover, studies of authors conducted from different states constantly
show higher rates, from a younger age with significant onset type-2 diabetes in the
Indigenous Australian population. On the other hand, while Mendham et al. (2015) have
witnessed an elevating rate of prevalence among all Australian youth over the past 20
years, Indigenous youths have been experienced significantly greater rise in new
diagnosis rates. Furthermore, reports of authors have shed light on a disturbing
inconsistency, with a type-2 diabetes prevalence of 14.6 per 100 000 person years in
Indigenous youth aged 16 years or less, in comparison with an incidence of 1.6 in non‐
Indigenous young population thus showing a striking difference between the two
populations. The escalating incidence in the Indigenous Australians draw relevance to
the global context, whereby type-2 diabetes has been identified as a highly unnecessary
“disease of poverty” involved significantly in populations of socio‐economically
disadvantaged population. As a result, several risk factors for diabetes have been
reported at a radically earlier age and at much advanced frequency among the
Indigenous Australian population, thus putting forward that the prevalence of diabetes

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shows an implication of increasing exponentially in the future without intervention
(McDermott et al. 2015).
Socio-Economic Status Contributing to Diabetes among Indigenous Australians
Healthy lifestyles are thought to be dejected in the deficiency of an environment,
which advocates them in addition to behavioural, and educational interventions may be
considerably diminish or rendered ineffective in such non-enabling environment.
Reports of Matthews et al. (2014) have revealed that in Australia, the increasing figure
of Indigenous individuals suffering from type-2 diabetes is significantly driven by
escalating rates of obesity with reduced rates of physical movement, nutritional
alterations as well as an ageing populace. Aboriginal Australians persistent suffering
from diabetes caused due to their traditional unhealthy lifestyle that further leads to
chronic heart and blood vessel disease in addition to obesity or high blood pressure. On
the other hand, research conducted by McGuire, Anderson and Fulbrook (2014) have
advocated that the metabolism of Indigenous Australians has been pushed towards
developing them into capable hunter-gatherers, which made them proficient in living a
traditional lifestyle. However, recently with less Aboriginal people living an old-style
lifestyle and further being extremely susceptible towards current Westernized lifestyle,
Indigenous Australians have been inclining towards consumption of foods. These foods
are low in fibre and rich in fat and sugar, alcohol, cigarette smoking along with an
inactive lifestyle that has led them to lose their once-efficient digestion and thus
increasing incidence of Type-2 diabetes. Maple‐Brown et al. (2014) have indicated that
Aboriginal people living Westernised lifestyle tend to have elevated rates of obesity with
impaired glucose tolerance in addition to high blood pressure, elevated levels of