Type Two Diabetes in Children, Outline Example

Biology of Disease/Condition

The increase prevalence of obesity in children and young adults is closely parallel in Type II diabetes.

• Type II diabetes is diagnosed when people don’t produce enough insulin or cannot use it properly
• Insulin is typically made in the beta cells of the islet of Langerhans in the pancreas
  • Most individuals with type II diabetes have damage to these cells and cannot produce enough insulin
    • Hyperglycemia and glucotoxicity are contributing factors to this destruction and result from many modern diets and lifestyle choices (Andel et al., 2014)

Descriptive Epidemiologic Profile

The root cause of how children are getting type II diabetes could be lifestyle and genes. Clinical and biochemical findings indicate that the principal factor in the pathophysiology of type 2 DM in children is the development of insulin resistance. The condition is associated with hyperlipidemia, hypertension, nonalcoholic hepatosteatosis, and PCOS. Whereas familial and nutritional factors are known to be important in the development of type 2 DM, the precise mechanisms by which genetic and environmental factors produce insulin resistance have yet to be determined. As in adults, progressive deterioration of insulin secretion as a result of “glucose toxicity,” hypertriglyceridemia, or other, unknown factors ultimately contributes to the development of type 2 DM in children (Jose, n.d.).

• The highest disease incidence is among minority children aged 15–19 years
• The prevalence of type II diabetes in children is of 0.07 per 1000 youth for the whole population and 0.12 per 1000 youth for minority subgroups (Dabelea et al., 2014)
• The incidence rate for diabetes is different for various ethnic groups
  • For Native Americans, the incidence is 49.4 per 100,000 person-years (D’Adamo & Caprio, 2011)
  • For Asian/Pacific Islanders the incidence is 22.7 per 100,000 person-years
  • For African Americans the incidence is 19.4 per 100,000 person-years
  • For Hispanics the incidence is 17 per 100,000 person-years
  • For Caucasians, the incidence is 5.6 per 100,000 person-years

Etiology of Disease/Condition

Health disparities are shown to be part of an unhealthy lifestyle.

• Many children in low income neighborhoods are not provided with well-balanced meal
• Many of these individuals are allowed to purchase their own foods because their parents spend a lot of time at work, which results in food choices that are high in sugar and fat
• Over a period of time, unhealthy eating habits can negatively impact the body, contributing to the demise of cells that produce insulin
• Once these cells are damaged, they cannot be repaired

Associated Environmental Factors

The factors that put these children at risk are having a sedentary lifestyle. Not being active in sports or activities.

• A combination of lack of activity and healthy eating contributes to a buildup of sugar in the blood that cannot readily be metabolized
• This contributes to the damage of beta cells
• Low socioeconomic status is an additional environmental factor because this contributes to many variables that have a direct impact on the likelihood to engage in poor eating and exercise habits
• Physical location, such as living in an area that is considered a “food desert” is an important contributing factor because it prevents these individuals from having access to healthy foods, which puts them at an increased risk for type II diabetes

Nutritional Contributions to Causes/For Solution

Encouraging a healthier diet based on the American Guidelines for Americans.

• Providing individuals in at risk communities with information about healthy eating and dietary guidelines will help reduce risk for this disease
• Improving the nutritious quality of free lunch programs will also contribute to prevention of this disease in children

Policy/Political Issues Related to Causes/Needed for Solutions

Parents could be the barriers of situation.

• Special programs could be developed in coordination with local schools to provide parents with information that will help them teach their children to make healthier dietary choices

Health Education Recommendations

Schools and working towards improving physical education programs.

• Health teachers could be provided with specialized training to work with education youth about health in these areas
• Health education programs could be incorporated into various aspects of the science or physical education curriculum

Implications for Global Health

The United States seems to be the top country for this disease in children. Of course there are other major health disparities in children but this issue is a major one in the U.S.

Summary

The point of this paper is to express the public health issue of childhood obesity and the onset of type II diabetes in children. Why these children become at risk and get this disease. Is this disease preventable? Yes, of course with nutrition educating and encouragement in the schools there can be a decrease in this epidemic. So many health professionals, teachers, parents and communities have been improving there over food systems in educating our children and their future.

References

And?l M, N?mcová V, Pavlíková N, Urbanová J, Cecháková M, Havlová A

Straková R, Ve?e?ová L, Mandys V, Ková? J, Heneberg P, Trnka J, Polák J. (2014). Factors causing damage and destruction of beta-cells of the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas. Vnitr Lek., 60(9): 684-90.

Dabelea D, Mayer-Davis EJ, Saydah S, Imperatore G, Linder B, Divers J

Bell R, Badaru A, Talton JW, Crume T, Liese AD, Merchant AT, Lawrence JM, Reynolds K, Dolan L, Lenna LL, Hamman RF. (2014). Prevalence of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Among Children and Adolescents From 2001 to 2009. JAMA, 311(17): 1778-1786.

D’Adamo E, Caprio S. (2011). Type 2 Diabetes in Youth: Epidemiology and Pathophysiology. Diabetes Care, 34(2): S161-S165.

Jose, C. (n.d.). The Epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus In Children. Retrieved August 10, 2015.