Understanding Diabetes in the Elderly
The statistics of diabetes in the elderly is staggering. According to the American Diabetes Association there are over 12.2 million people over the age of 60 who have been diagnosed as diabetic. Diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in 2006 as listed on death certificates. Wow, those are huge numbers of elderly.
Diabetes, officially called diabetes mellitus, occurs when the body does not respond to the insulin (a hormone that is produced by the pancreas that doesn’t allow the body to use the glucose that is in the body) that it is making or the body doesn’t make enough insulin. This causes the body to store up the glucose (sugar). This storage of glucose in the body causes many complications.
There are 3 main types of diabetes:
Type 1 – When the body doesn’t produce enough insulin on its own. These people must take insulin injections daily. Type 1 diabetes accounts for 5-10% of those people diagnosed with diabetes.
Type 2 – When the body is not using the insulin that it is producing properly people have Type 2 diabetes. This is the most common form of diabetes.
Gestational – Women who become pregnant and do not normally have diabetes suddenly become diabetic during their pregnancy. Some women remain diabetic after their pregnancy will develop Type 2 diabetes. You don’t see this type of diabetes in the elderly, but you may see that it started as gestational and progressed to Type 2.
The 2 most noticeable symptoms of diabetes are increased thirst, increased fluid intake, and more frequent urination. The diagnosis of diabetes is the result of a fasting blood sugar test preformed by your physician.
Diabetes in the elderly is an important disease to be on the look out for. Elderly need to take some extra care with their health. Elderly people have higher chances of encountering diabetes because as age increases the production of various important enzymes in the body decreases. The elderly body’s immune system doesn’t function as well as it used to and the body’s capacity to produce the important enzymes that convert the carbohydrates into useful “food” diminishes. Diabetes in older people can also promote the other organs of the body to not function properly.
In the next blog I will discuss how to manage diabetes in the elderly.
Mary Davis was a caregiver for her parents for 4 ½ years after both her Mom and Dad had strokes. Mary is the owner of 2 elder care websites (http://www.careforyourelderblog.com & http://www.secretsofeldercare.com), and author of 9 e-books.
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