Family Health Problems Tree
The purpose I searched for my family health history was to see what complications may occur in my future or in my family. There are a couple of benefits behind me researching the diseases throughout my family history including that I can learn what is prevalent which may put me at risk of contracting it, it can help me change my lifestyle to prevent or lower my chances, and help me prepare for what may arise. The diseases that are most prevalent my family that will most likely affect me or my brothers and sisters are Diabetes, Migraine, High Blood Pressure, and High Cholesterol.
Diabetes is a disease that I came across when researching my maternal side of my family history. Diabetes is a disease that affects your pancreas an important organ in regulating blood sugar. When a person has diabetes there are two ways it can affect the pancreas because there are two types of the disease. Type-1 diabetes affects the pancreas by not allowing the body to produce enough insulin to keep the body’s blood sugar at a healthy number. The opposite is for Type-2 which produces too much insulin and gives the body too much insulin keeping the blood sugar number above healthy (Type-2).
On my mother’s side of the family Type-1 diabetes is prevalent and it isn’t entirely considered an inherited disease, but it has been proven to have some genetic factors that can be passed down. Diabetes is becoming an increasing problem in the United States with half of all Americans becoming either diabetic or pre-diabetic.
Treatments for Type-1 diabetes are taking insulin to help increase your glucose levels (blood sugar), eating healthy, maintaining healthy weight, and monitoring daily your levels. Type-2 treatments include mos...
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...t eye openers. I also found out that I should watch for “triggers” before I get a headache. This concludes my paper on my family history.
Works Cited
"High blood pressure (hypertension)." Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. .
"High cholesterol." Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. .
"Migraine." Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. .
"Type 2 diabetes." Treatment at Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. .
MLA formatting by BibMe.org.
Type 1 diabetes has a genetic onset that often occurs in adolescence (Porth, 2005). It is an autoimmune disease in which the insulin-producing beta cells within the liver are destroyed (Dorman, 1993). This causes a deficiency in insulin secretion, which ultimately leads to high blood glucose levels, also referred to as hyperglycemia (Guthrie & Guthrie, 2004). The mechanism for insulin deficiency leading to hyperglycemia is described in more detail in the following section and in Figure 1.
Each type of diabetes has its own risk factors. In Type I those factors are family history, genetics, geography, viral exposure, vitamin D deficiency, and other dietary factors. In Typ...
Diabetes is a disease that affects the body’s ability to produce or respond to insulin, a hormone that allows blood glucose (blood sugar) to enter the cells of the body and be used for energy. Diabetes falls into two main categories: type 1, or juvenile diabetes, which usually occurs during childhood or adolescence, and type 2, or adult-onset diabetes, the most common form of the disease, usually occurring after age 40. Type 1 results from the body’s immune system attacking the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The onset of juvenile diabetes is much higher in the winter than in the summer. This association has been repeatedly confirmed in diabetes research. Type 2 is characterized by “insulin resistance,” or an inability of the cells to use insulin, sometimes accompanied by a deficiency in insulin production. There is also sometimes a third type of diabetes considered. It is gestational diabetes, which occurs when the body is not able to properly use insulin during pregnancy. Type 2 diabetes encompasses nine out of 10 diabetic cases. Diabetes is the fifth-deadliest disease in the United States, and it has no cure. The total annual economic cost of diabetes in 2002 was estimated to be $132 billion, or one out of every 10 health care dollars spent in the United States. Diabetes risk factors can fall into three major categories: family history, obesity, and impaired glucose tolerance. Minority groups and elderly are at the greatest risk of developing diabetes.
Current theories link the cause of diabetes, singly or in combination, to genetic, autoimmune, viral, and environmental factors (obesity, stress). Regardless of its cause, diabetes is primarily a disorder of glucose metabolism related to absent or insufficient insulin supplies and/or poor utilization of the insulin that is available. The two most common types of diabetes are classified as type I or type II diabetes mellitus. Gestational diabetes and secondary diabetes are other classifications of diabetes commonly seen in clinical practice
From generation to generation diabetes has continued to claim lives on my mothers side of the family. From recent memory my great grandmother, aunt, and three cousins have had diabetes. Once a trait like diabetes enters your family it is passed down through genetics but it is also not guaranteed that all your family members will get it. You may be asking yourself what exactly diabetes is, what it does to your body and is their a cure? This disease affects us in many ways than one, as I will introduce to you.
Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong disease but Type 2 diabetes is preventive in nature.
Knowing the extensive impact of a new diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes would be helpful in creating a conventional environment for the newly diagnosed. There are many factors that will influence for a positive outcome from such a negative life changing event. Understanding that a chronic illness affects many aspects of one’s life is key to being successful in having control of the disease.
You may ask yourself, what is diabetes? Diabetes is usually a lifelong (chronic) disease in which there is a high level of sugar in the blood. To understand that though, you must first understand the job of insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas to control your blood sugar. When you eat, your body turns that food into a sugary substance called glucose. Now your pancreas is supposed to release insulin. However, if you have diabetes, that process doesn’t work, causing ...
Type 1 diabetes, is an incurable but treatable disease which can occur at any age but is mostly found in children due to the high levels of glucose in the blood (Eckman 2011). Juvenile diabetes affects about 1 in every 400-600 children and more than 13,000 are diagnosed yearly (Couch 2008). Type 1 Diabetes means your blood glucose, or blood sugar, is too high. With Type 1 diabetes, your pancreas does not make insulin. Insulin is a hormone, which helps glucose gets into your cells to provide energy. Without insulin, too much glucose stays in your blood. Over time, high blood glucose can lead to serious problems with your heart, eyes, kidneys, nerves, gums and teeth (American Diabetes Association). Previous research has suggested proper insulin management, a balanced diet and exercise will help maintain glycemic control and lessen the chance of complications (Couch 2008).
Diabetes is treated by number one taking insulin and insulin is a number two eating a healthy diet, which would be like eating fruits and vegetables and other healthy stuff. Number three checking blood sugar levels constantly which means pricking your finger and taking blood from your body and checking it. Number four staying active like playing outside and also playing sports.
Diabetes affects 18.2 million people in the United States. It is often referred to by doctors as diabetes mellitus and described as, “… a metabolic disease in which the person has high blood sugar …” (Collazo- Clavell et all. 2009), either because the insulin is inadequate or the body’s cells don’t respond well to the insulin. The health and economic consequences of diabetes are considerable. The majority of people that have diabetes live in low and middle income countries, where the prevalence of the disease is high. There are three types of diabetes that are called type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Although diabetes is a disorder, it can lead to other diseases such as heart attack, kidney failure or death. A person that has diabetes has to maintain a healthy lifestyle, by eating the right diet, controlling their blood sugar level, and be optimistic.
Type one diabetes is the most common type of diabetes diagnosed in children and young adults. With this type of diabetes, the body destroys the insulin producing beta cells in the pancreas. Insulin is needed to transport glucose into the cells to use as an energy source. Because of the destruction of insulin cells, type one diabetes is insulin dependent, meaning insulin therapy is needed to treat the disease. Many of the common symptoms include: frequent urination, excessive thirst and hunger, extreme fatigue, blurry vision, weight loss, and slow healing of cuts and bruises (American Diabetes Association (ADA), 2013).
Gathering research about my family and its history turned out to be an interesting and insightful opportunity, through which I learned much more than I expected. When I started this project, I knew that I would not be able to find as much useful information on the Internet as some of my peers. In effect, I realized that I would have to rely on other primary resources such as my parents and grandparents to reveal the story of my ancestry to me. After I had interviewed them, my family history became much clearer to me.
Initially, beginning this assignment I wasn 't sure what to expect. My extended family and I are not very close. It was difficult for me to have to reach out to people to find out information for this assignment. When I first began to research my family history it was very difficult for me and brought up a lot of emotions, as I had recently just lost a grandparent on each side of my family. Unfortunately, both of those grandparents who passed had many of the answers I needed for this assignment. When gathering information I sought out family members from my mom 's side and from my father 's side of the family. Upon trying to gather information I quickly realized that communication is lacking on both sides of my family. I actually received some push back and concerns regarding why I was interested in “digging up people’s business”.
Diabetes Mellitus is a disease in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps the body’s tissues absorb glucose which is sugar, so it can be used as a source of energy. Glucose levels build up in the blood and urine which causes excessive urination, thirst, hunger, and problems with fat and protein metabolism in a diabetic person. Diabetes is very common in the United States; it is the seventh leading cause of all deaths. Women have been diagnosed with diabetes more than men. There are two forms of diabetes, Type one and Type two diabetes. Type one diabetes is when the body does not produce insulin or produces it in very small quantities. This usually occurs in younger people under twenty years of age, mostly around puberty. Type two diabetes is when the body’s balance between insulin production and the ability of cells to use insulin doesn’t work properly. This is more common than type one; about 90-95% people in the United States have it. There are no cures for diabetes now but there are many researchers investigating factors through new technologies to cure them. Meanwhile, technological advancements are being made to keep glucose at a good level for diabetes.