3. Diabetes
Diabetes is closely related to the obesity issue and is the seventh leading cause of death in Oklahoma. According to the 2014 State of the State Health Reports, in 2010, Oklahoma had the fourth highest death rate in the nation due to diabetes.
“The diabetes epidemic has not slowed in Oklahoma,” says Dr. James Lane, director of Adult Clinical Programs with the Harold Hamm Diabetes Center. “Oklahoma has a higher rate of diabetes than most states, and we also have an increased risk of young people with type 2 diabetes.”
Quite often, people with diabetes have no idea they are afflicted with the disease. In 2014, the American Diabetes Association estimated that more than 8 million people were living undiagnosed.
“Diabetes is a silent killer,” says Dr. Trudy Milner, family medicine physician and assistant medical director at St. John Health System. “You don’t often feel bad until serious complications are happening.”
Diabetes is the body’s inability to break down sugars that enter the body. The resulting glucose buildup can lead to a variety of dangerous complications.
“If your sugar stays out of control, it affects your heart, kidneys and can cause tingling, pain and numbness in legs and feet,” explains Milner. “Infections do not heal quickly because the sugars feed the bacteria and can result in extended hospital stays and even amputation. It also affects your whole blood system, which can cause stroke, affect your vision and can result in blindness.”
“You have to respect diabetes, or it will ruin your health,” adds Lane.
Up to 95 percent of people diagnosed with diabetes have type 2 diabetes, which is typically impacted by two factors: lifestyle and genetics. Though risk factors like family history, ethnicity and age also play a role in developing diabetes, there are steps one can take to prevent the disease or to lessen its complications.
“Keep your weight under control, and use those sugars in a positive way instead of letting them just sit in the body,” advises Milner. “Exercise regularly, for 30 minutes three times a week, or even 15 minutes a day. And, see your physician.”
Cost plays a role in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diabetes. Lane and Milner both agree that more needs to be done to ensure Oklahomans have access to health care.
“There is a lack of physicians in rural Oklahoma,” says Milner. “We really need more physicians to provide health care to all Oklahomans.”
“Another of our challenges is getting medicines our patients can afford,” says Milner.
In response, Oklahoma is working to make improvements.
Doctors in direct patient care are taking an integrated approach to help and support patients in making difficult lifestyle changes, and in the community, universities have organized targeted initiatives to funnel and train new doctors to reach high need areas.
OSU’s Center for Health Sciences’ Center for Rural Health serves as the clearinghouse for rural health information and offers support to doctors, hospitals and clinics who serve our state’s rural residents, and OU’s Community Health Alliance aims to reach the uninsured and underinsured of Oklahoma City.
