Diabetes Mellitus: A Public Health Perspective

Running head: PUBLIC HEALTH
PUBLIC HEALTH
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

PUBLIC HEALTH1
Introduction
This report will give a description of “Diabetes Mellitus” in the lens of a public health
perspective. The paper will give an account of the illness from both public as well as biological
perspective followed by a vivid description of the pathophysiology of the disease. Finally, a plan
of care would be provided for managing the health behavior related to diabetes.
Description of the disease from a public health perspective
Diabetes can be defined as a public health disorder that is caused due to the reduction in
the production of insulin hormone and resistance of the body tissues towards the effect of insulin
or both. It causes a high level of glucose molecules in the blood causing a widespread
disturbance of metabolism of the body. The total number of people with diabetes have risen from
108 million to 422 million in the year 2014 (World Health Organization, 2018). The worldwide
prevalence of the diabetes among the adults over 18 years have risen from 4.7 % in the year 1988
to 9 % in the year 2018. In the year 2015, 30.3 million of Americans, had diabetes. Roughly 1.25
million American kids and adults have type 1 diabetes (World Health Organization, 2018).
Diabetes is considered as a public health disorder due to the fact that the huge disease
burden of diabetes, the rapid alteration in the incidence of the disease and public concern are the
three important characteristics to define a public health disorders. Furthermore, a public health
disorder is mitigated by promoting a healthy lifestyle and diet promoting good health to the
entire population. The incidence and the management of diabetes largely depends upon what

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people perceives or knows about its pathophysiology or treatment. The prevalence of diabetes
can also be mitigated by teaching public about appropriate life styles, dietary patterns.
Description of the disease from a biological perspective
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that is featured by the presence of chronic
hyperglycemia, which is accompanied by a greater and a lesser impairment in the carbohydrate,
lipid and protein metabolism. The disease occurs either when the pancreatic cells become non-
functional or hence insulin is not generated or when the body cannot utilize the insulin produced
by the cells (Chamberlain, et al., 2016).
The main signs and the symptoms of diabetes includes increased thrust and urination,
increased hunger, blurred vision, numbness, diabetic ulcer that will not heal easily and
unexplained loss of weight. Some of the risk factors of diabetes involves obesity, inactivity or
sedentary lifestyle, family history, race, age, gestational diabetes and high blood pressure
(Chamberlain, et al., 2016).
The mean life expectancy of diabetes is about 70 % in comparison to the entire
population. It has been found that the frequency of overt diabetes is found to have been more in
females than that of the males. The mean survival after the clinical manifestation is greater than
18 years. Nowadays about 75 % of patients with diabetes die from cardiovascular diseases
(Chamberlain, et al., 2016). The incidence of diabetic coma had disappeared with time. Again
Reno vascular complication is also the leading complication causing death in young patients. The
main element of the diabetes treatment is the management of the blood glucose level regularly.
Type 1 diabetes is managed by insulin given subcutaneously. Type 2 diabetes can be managed by