According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 29.1 million people were living with diabetes in 2014. While these statistics have decreased slightly since then, we as a country still need to be aware of the risk factors.

For those unfamiliar with the term, diabetes mellitus is a group of diseases that each result in elevated levels of blood glucose. As a result, your pancreas cannot properly produce insulin, and your body struggles to convert carbohydrates into usable sugars. Individuals with the condition may experience fatigue, excessive thirst, frequent urination, weight loss, or blurred vision.

The most common types of diabetes are Type I and Type II. Type I is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the pancreas’s insulin-secreting cells. Risk factors include:

• Family History: Research suggests that Type 1 diabetes may have a genetic link. If one of your parents or siblings have the disease, you should visit your primary care doctor for regular diabetes screenings.
• Age: While it can appear at any age, individuals most often develop Type I diabetes between the ages of 4 and 7 or 10 and 14. If your child is in either of these age groups, monitor them for the symptoms described above.  
• Environmental Factors: Both geography and exposure to viral illnesses are thought to influence Type I diabetes.

Type II, on the other hand, is a chronic condition in which the patient becomes insulin resistant. This variation accounts for 90 to 95% of all diagnosed cases of diabetes. Like Type I, Type II diabetes is linked to family history and age. However, it also has its own risk factors including:

• Weight: Obesity is the leading cause of Type II diabetes in the U.S. Essentially, the more fatty tissue you have, the more resistant your cells become to insulin. In this case, your primary care doctor may recommend you start a clinical weight loss program.
• Race: The connection between Type II and race is still unclear. Nevertheless, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asian Americans are at a higher risk for this form of diabetes.
• Cholesterol: Having low levels of high-density lipoprotein, also known as “good” cholesterol, is also linked to Type II diabetes. As you age, your primary care doctor will likely administer routine blood tests to monitor these benchmarks.  

While some of these risk factors are out of your control, others are not. As mentioned above, you can monitor your weight and cholesterol levels by joining a clinical weight loss program and eating a well-rounded diet. For the non-modifiable risk factors such as family history and age, you should receive routine screenings to catch the disease before the symptoms become too severe. With all these prevention efforts combined, you too can help decrease the national statistics for diabetes.

Urgent & Primary Care is a full-service health care provider just minutes away from Albany, NY. Led by an experienced father-daughter team, they strive to both treat and educate patients with a variety of conditions. To speak with one of their primary care doctors about your risk of diabetes, asthma, or COPD, call them at (518) 463-8262 or visit them online today.