Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic illness in the pancreas that effects you whole body. Chronic means you can have it for a long time, usually your whole life time. People with diabtes don’t creat the hormone insulin, or there body makes very little insulin and cannot use it properly. We need to convert glucose (sugars) into energy and this is what insulin is used for, to help convert glucose into energy. There are two type’s of diabetes, Type 1 – which is insulin dependant, and type 2 – which is non insulin dependant.

In type 1 diabetes the pancreas, stops making insulin. Without insulin, the body’s cells cannot turn glucose (sugar), into energy. Without insulin the body burns its own fats as a substitute. Unless treated with daily injections of insulin, people with type 1 diabetes accumulate dangerous chemical substances in their blood from the burning of fat. This can cause a condition known as ketoacidosis. This condition is potentially life threatening if not treated. ketoacidosis To stay alive, people with type 1 diabetes depend on up to four insulin injections every day of their lives. They must test their blood glucose levels several times daily. The onset of type 1 diabetes typically occurs in people under 30 years, but can occur at any age. About 10-15% of all cases of diabetes are type 1.

Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes, affecting 85-90% of all people with diabetes. While it usually affects older adults, more and more younger people, even children, are getting type 2 diabetes. In type 2 diabetes, the pancreas makes some insulin but it is not produced in the amount your body needs and it does not work effectively. Type 2 diabetes results from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The risk of type 2 is greatly increased when associated with lifestyle factors such as high blood pressure, overweight or obesity, insufficient physical activity, poor diet and the classic ‘apple shape’ body where extra weight is carried around the waist. Type 2 diabetes can often initially be managed with healthy eating and regular physical activity. However, over time most people with type 2 diabetes will also need tablets and many will also need insulin. It is important to note that this is just the natural progression of the disease, and taking tablets or insulin as soon as they are required can result in fewer complications in the long-term.

MENTAL HEALTH: Mental health is a referral to how well a person functions in relation to their thoughts, feelings and behaviours. Mental health disorders/mental illnesses are a range of disorders that affect the way an individual behaves, thinks and feels about themselves and the world around them. Mental disorders that Australian youth may face include; Autism, attention deficit disorders, depression, ADHD, anxiety, eating disorders, schizophrenia, mood swings. Experiencing a mental health issue or disorder could be from poor education levels, no job or career and poor physical health. ASTHMA: Asthma is a harsh respiratory condition were the airways of asthmatics narrow making it extremely hard for them to breath. They also tend to have extra mucus and swelling of the airways. The triggers of asthma include cigarette smoke, exercise (sport), some animals/pets, dust and dust mites, and pollen (flowers) etc. There is no known cure for asthma but there is treatment such as preventer medication or reliever medications (puffers). Asthma is a real challenge for youth because they have a poor understanding of asthma, deny having the illness, being too embarrassed to take or carry medication.

DIABETES: Diabetes is to do with a range of conditions involving too much glucose (sugar) in the blood system. There are two types of diabetes you can get, Type 1 which is insulin dependent which allows the injected insulin to convert glucose to energy, and Type 2 which is non-insulin dependent and the pancreas can still make insulin to convert glucose into energy but the body doesn’t know how to use this insulin. WEIGHT ISSUES: At this point in time over half of Australians are classed as overweight or obese. Statistics state that 3 in 10 children are overweight. At this current rate it is expected that in 2020, 65% of young Australians will be obese or overweight. Obesity is caused by eating too much fats and sugars, not enough physical activity and too much sitting around doing nothing such as playing computer games. People who are underweight often suffer from eating disorders, with females being the worst for being underweight. It’s estimated 2-3% of youth females have anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa with 1 in 100 girls being diagnosed with anorexia.

DRUG USE: Youth usually tend to experiment with drugs at this stage in life, although experimenting can lead to long term addiction. Alcohol is the most common drug used by Australian youth. Australian youth aged 14 years or older had consumed alcohol in the past 12 months; with 10.3% of youth consume alcohol at high or excessive levels. Alcohol can lead to greater risks of injury and can have short and long term injury effects. Tobacco is the most used drug in 14+ year olds with 16.6% use tobacco on a popular basis. Effects of using tobacco include respiratory problems, poor fitness levels and can cause and lead to cancer. A large number of youth also use illicit (illegal) drugs. Youth aged years old usually use the following illicit drugs like; marijuana, ecstasy, painkillers, hallucinogens, tranquillisers, inhalants and cocaine. SUN PROTECTION: Australia has one of the highest rates for skin cancer. Around 300 Victorians die each year due to skin cancer, even though 95% of skin cancers are preventable. On average 25% of youths get burnt over the summer holidays and over the weekends in summer. The most common and most dangerous skin cancer is melanoma. The recent sun exposure adds on television have reduced the rates of skin cancer within Australia, the harsh effects of the videos must be getting to the public?

SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH: Sexual and reproductive health is being able to enjoy and manage sexual and reproductive behaviour as well as complete social, mental and physical wellbeing with no absence of disease or infirmity. Each individual has the right to be informed about risks, have access to health care and family planning services. Youth’s main issues are pregnancy and STI’s (sexually transmitted infections) with Chlamydia being the most common STI. Pregnancy rates with Australian youth are 4.4% for females under the age of 20. FOOD ALLERGIES: A food allergy is an abnormal immune response to foods. 5% of Australian children have some sort of food allergy. The most common food allergies children suffer from are peanuts/general nuts, eggs, milk, shellfish, sesame and soy. People who have a sudden or severe allergic reaction have a condition known as anaphylaxis; this condition requires urgent medical treatment and attention. People who suffer from severe allergies always carry and EpiPen, for use in emergency’s to treat anaphylaxis.

HOMELESSNESS: Homelessness in Australian youth is huge, factors that contribute to homelessness in youth include; poverty, unemployment, and lack of affordable housing. People who are homeless usually experience poor mental health, barriers to education, reduced employment, discrimination, harsh social effects, lack of food, lack of clothing or very little clothes. Dangers that are involved with homelessness include sexual exploitation and violence. CYBER BULLYING: Cyber bullying is prevalent in year olds. Higher school authorities state that 90% of all their bullying and harassment cases are involved with cyber bullying. People who suffer or experience cyber bullying may experience low self esteem, a lot of absences from school, and some of them can even harm themselves i.e. suicide. Internet social networking sites are a big threat for cyber bullying and they are all causes of cyber bullying, these social networks like MSN, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Nasty things occur on these websites such as teasing, rumours, unwanted messages, and a hurt reputation (defamation). Youth don’t speak about cyber bullying because they fear the loss of such technology. Its also very hard to find the culprits of cyber bullying as they often change or use different user names to their real names.

The effects diabetes can have on a persons social, emotional, physical and intellectual health and development include; social effects can be, you dont interact with friends and family like you used to, there are changes in your friendship groups because of the illness. Emotional effects can be how you can manage your emotions, you obviously wont be happy as an individual with the ilness and sometimes your emotions can get in the way and overpower you. Physical effects can be greatly effected by the ilness as you can become overweight and have changes in your physical appearance. The intellectual effects may change as your have an illness that sometimes you need to be independant about. Example could be because you need to take regular insulin injections if your type 1, this may effect the way you interact with others and socialise.

In , 3.6% of the Australian population, approximately 700,000 people reported they had diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the main contributor to diabetes incidence (or the number of new cases over time). However type 1 diabetes incidence is also increasing according to recent state based studies. Trends or changes overtime in diabetes can be you change from being type 2 to type 1 diabetes, from non-insulin dependant to insulin dependant.

Risk factors that bring on or onset type 2 diabetes include; if you are overweight of obese, have a really poor/unconsistant diet, don't or do very little exercise, and if you are elderly. Being elderly and obese can cause diabetes as the bada cells don't function properly to a normal body. Type 1 diabetes is not preventable as this forms from type 2.

The government, community strategies and programs that are availiable for people who suffer from diabetes include; -World Diabetes Day which is ran on the 14 th November -Jelly Baby Month, ran by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) which is ran each may. -Diabetes Australia helps raise awareness, help research, and form fundraising partnerships, its also a place where people who have diabetes or want to know more about the ilness can call infoline on National Diabetes Services Scheme, an initiative of the Australian Government and administered by Diabetes Australia. This scheme provides diabetics with practical assistance, information and subsidized products (cheaper products such as test strips, needles etc). Diabetics can register free of charge at

Youth have the rights of the following when using services to help them: -Safety -Dignity -Privacy -Satisfaction of basic needs -Choice -Be heard -Be informed -Redress -Access health care -High quality care -Confidentiality Youth have the following responsibilities when using services: -Provide accurate and complete information -Ask questions and discuss concerns

VCE Health and Human Development Units 1+2, Sonia Goodacre, Cambridge, Issues in society – Diabetes, Justin Healey, The Spinney Press, 2007 Diabetes A to Z, American Diabetes Association,