Public Health Report: Diabetes Mellitus, Pathogenesis, and Care Plan

This report provides a comprehensive overview of Diabetes Mellitus from a public health perspective. It defines the disease, detailing its increasing global prevalence and public health significance. The report then shifts to a biological perspective, explaining the pathophysiology, symptoms, risk factors, and treatment options for diabetes. It further explores how behavioral factors such as diet and lifestyle contribute to the disease's progression. Finally, the report proposes a plan of action, utilizing the Health Belief Model, to address health behavior challenges, including early screening, dietary changes, and structured exercise programs to improve patient outcomes. This report, contributed by a student and published on Desklib, offers valuable insights into managing and mitigating the impact of diabetes.

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

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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

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antidiabetic medicines, reduction of weight by changing the dietary habits and by physical
exercises (Chamberlain, et al., 2016).
Behavior initiated pathogenesis
The behavioral contribution to diabetes includes life style behaviors like the dietary
intake, sedentary lifestyle, stress, sleep, exercise and more.
Sugar consumption has contributed to poor regulation of glucose, regardless to the
obesity factor. Studies have proved that higher intake of fibrous food, green leafy vegetables,
whole grains has been linked to controlling of the blood glucose level (Alatawi et al., 2017).
Health behaviors like consumption of the sugar sweetened beverages has been linked to increase
the chance of the disease. Sweetened beverages contain fructose (Spruijt-Metz et al., 2017).
While glucose takes entry in to the cells by a transport mechanism (GLu-4) and helps to send
‘satiety’ signals to the brain, fructose provides such indications. This is how fructose in the
sweetened beverages contributes to obesity and other comorbidities (Spruijt-Metz et al., 2017).
Again sedentary lifestyle like working long hours in the same position and limited physical
activity increases the chance of obesity and diabetes.
Plan of action
Health belief Model can be used to determine the rationale for the health behavior with
respect to construct interventions (Shabibi et al., 2017). It mainly focuses on the disease
prevention and adoption of the behaviors for avoiding illness, if they regard themselves to be
susceptible to a particular condition.
The plan of action would include: - Early screening of diabetes, changing of the dietary
behavior, and promoting education about the physical activities by setting up proper guidelines

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regarding the activities that needs to be done (Jalilian, et al., 2017). Garden and cooking based
nutritious interventions with children have also got popularity. In order to change sedentary
behavior, structured exercise programs needs to be implemented.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that public health disorders like diabetes can be treated by
promoting education regarding change in the dietary life style, change in the sedentary behavior,
and self-care activities.

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REFERENCE
Alatawi, Y. M., Kavookjian, J., Ekong, G., & Alrayees, M. M. (2016). The association between
health beliefs and medication adherence among patients with type 2 diabetes. Research in
Social and Administrative Pharmacy, 12(6), 914-925.
Chamberlain, J. J., Rhinehart, A. S., Shaefer, C. F., & Neuman, A. (2016). Diagnosis and
management of diabetes: synopsis of the 2016 American Diabetes Association Standards
of Medical Care in Diabetes. Annals of internal medicine, 164(8), 542-552.
Jalilian, F., Motlagh, F. Z., Solhi, M., & Gharibnavaz, H. (2014). Effectiveness of self-
management promotion educational program among diabetic patients based on health
belief model. Journal of education and health promotion, 3.
Pereira, D. A., Costa, N. M. S. C., Sousa, A. L. L., Jardim, P. C. V., & Jardim, L. S. S. (2014).
Effect of an educational intervention on the metabolic control of people with type 2
diabetes. J Diabetes Nurs, 18, 111-6.
Shabibi, P., Zavareh, M., Sayehmiri, K., Qorbani, M., Safari, O., Rastegarimehr, B., &
Mansourian, M. (2017). Effect of educational intervention based on the Health Belief
Model on promoting self-care behaviors of type-2 diabetes patients. Electronic physician,
9(12), 5960–5968. doi:10.19082/5960
Spruijt-Metz, D., O'Reilly, G. A., Cook, L., Page, K. A., & Quinn, C. (2014). Behavioral
contributions to the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. Current diabetes reports, 14(4), 475.
doi:10.1007/s11892-014-0475-3

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World Health Organization, (2018). Diabetes. .Access date: 2.9.2019. Retrieved from:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes