Are you at risk for developing diabetes?

4/18/2008
It affects 2.3 million African Americans. It can cause blindness, heart attack, stroke and kidney disease. The American Diabetes Association says among African American women over the age of 55 it is reaching epidemic proportions. It is diabetes. 

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects your body's ability to make or use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that helps blood sugar - glucose - get into your body's cells. Without glucose in your cells your body is deprived of energy, and over time organs and tissues begin to fail and complications can arise. 

Some complications affect African Americans more than others. Those include: 

Eye trouble - specifically something called diabetic retinopathy. Diabetes can weaken the blood vessels in a part of the eye called the retina. Left untreated, it can lead to blindness. African Americans are twice as likely to become blind due to diabetes.

Diabetes can lead to circulation problems, especially in the legs and feet. Each year more than 56,000 people have to have a leg or foot amputated because of diabetes. 

Kidney disease and kidney failure (known as end stage renal disease) are complications of diabetes that affect African Americans more often than whites - as much as five times more often. 

While diabetes is not curable, it's not hopeless either. With proper care, you can avoid many of these complications. A good diet, exercise, careful monitoring of your blood sugar levels and in some cases medication can save your life. 

Unfortunately, many people with diabetes go undiagnosed. If you have one or more of the following symptoms, are overweight or have a family history of diabetes, check with your doctor: 

• Frequent urination, 
  
  
• Excessive thirst, 
  
  
• Hunger, 
  
  
• Unexplained weight loss, 
  
  
• Fatigue, 
  
  
• Blurred vision, 
  
  
• Dry mouth, 
  
  
• Dry skin, or v
  
  
• Cuts and scrapes that don't heal. 
  

To find out more talk to your doctor, or check out the American Diabetes Association website for African Americans: www.diabetes.org/africanamerican/.