Day to raise diabetes awareness

The American Diabetes Association is holding an alert campaign today to encourage college students, among others, to become aware of their risk of diabetes.

In order to determine their risk of diabetes, students and others can take a written test, which includes family history and health factors, said Seleena Rostad of the American Diabetes Association in Harrisburg.

It is the 10th anniversary of the campaign to alert people about diabetes, which affects about 70,000 people in central Pennsylvania, Rostad said.

Other factors that put an individual at risk for diabetes include being a member of a high-risk ethnic group, such as African American and Latino groups, as well as having high blood pressure.

This test often makes an individual who may not have been aware of the risk of diabetes aware of his or her current risk, Rostad said.

The test is made available by the ADA by calling (800) DIABETES.

Yet, even those who are not currently at risk can still benefit from learning about their risk of diabetes in the future, Rostad said.

"Often an individual will have a toe or foot amputated, only to later realize they were suffering from diabetes," Rostad said.

Susan Whitaker, a registered nurse and certified diabetes educator at Centre Community Hospital, said knowing your risk factors can be an alert to symptoms that may arise in the future.

"A college student who knows the main risk factors of diabetes, such as obesity, can start to change their lifestyle right away, creating a desirable body weight while preventing problems from occurring in the future," Whitaker said.

However, Patrick McDermott, registered nurse supervisor at Internal Medicine Associates, 1850 E. Park Ave., warns there is no foolproof way of testing for diabetes.

A diagnosis is often made when an individual comes in complaining of frequent urination, thirst and unusual weight loss, McDermott said.

Yet, with Type II diabetes, often there are no symptoms and an individual may have diabetes without knowing, McDermott said.

Type I diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce any insulin, while Type II diabetes, which affects 90 to 95 percent of those with diabetes, is the result of the body not making enough insulin, Rostad said.

This means individuals need to know if they are at risk, rather than just depending on the occurrence of symptoms, McDermott said.

And because diabetes is a heredity disease, when an individual realizes that family history puts them at risk, they often are tested on a constant basis after they reach the age of 20, McDermott said.

Children with a high risk of diabetes because of family history can be tested by the Diabetes Prevention Test, which establishes though an insulin test whether the child will be at risk in the future, McDermott said.

The best way to prevent damage to arteries, eyes and nerves is through detection, Rostad said, which means finding out what one's risks are and adjusting one's lifestyle to stay healthy.

This includes keeping to a well-balanced diet, exercising and getting regular check-ups, she said.