Social, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Causes of Diseases: Type 2 Diabetes

Assignment 3: Social, Behavioral, and Psychosocial Causes of Diseases: Type 2 Diabetes (T2D)

HSA 535 Managerial Epidemiology

December 14, 2013

Analyze the development of T2D in the U.S., and compare its development to developing countries in general. T2D is a progressive endocrine disorder characterized by abnormal secretion or action of insulin, which leads to elevated blood glucose. Over time elevated blood glucose results in damage to multiple organ systems.

Data from the 2011 National Diabetes fact sheet states that 25.8 million children and adults in the United States, or 8.3% of the population, have diabetes. 18.8 million People have been diagnosed while there are 7 million people who have diabetes but it is undiagnosed. 1.9 million New cases of diabetes were diagnosed in people over age 20 in 2010 (Diabetes Statistics).

In 2007, diabetes was listed as the underlying cause on 71,382 death certificates and was listed as a contributing factor on an additional 160,022 death certificates. This means that diabetes contributed to a total of 231,404 deaths. After adjusting for population age and sex differences, average medical expenditures among people with diagnosed diabetes were 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes. $245 billion was the total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the United States in 2012 with $176 billion for direct medical costs and $69 billion in reduced productivity (Diabetes Statistics).

While considered a disease of affluence, diabetes is now becoming increasingly prevalent in developing countries. Diabetes affects almost 6% of the world’s adult population, and accounts for approximately 5% of all global deaths, showing that it truly is a disease of global proportions. The number of deaths is expected to increase by more than 50% in the next 10 years (Friis, 2004).

Several interesting trends arise as public health professionals and epidemiologists attempt to analyze morbidity data. For example, 80% of people with diabetes worldwide live in low and middle-income countries. While the rate of obesity among these countries is lower than high income countries, it is expected that low and middle-income countries will experience the greatest increase in prevalence.

This indicates that there could possibly be a causal relationship between a country’s socioeconomic status and the prevalence of diabetes. Furthermore, the age distribution of sufferers differs greatly: most people with diabetes in low and middle-income countries are middle-aged (45-64), unlike high income countries, where most diabetic patients are elderly.

Using T2D statistics, compare the rates in the U.S. to the rates in your home state. Diabetes is a serious health condition that has continued