NSG4076
NSG4076 – Week 5 Discussion Paper
NSG4076 – Week 5 Discussion Paper
Select one of the following questions to discuss. Justify your response based on the readings and articles from the South University Online Library. 1. Epidemiological Issues (Community: Albany, GA) What epidemiological issues did you find in your community? What differentiates these as epidemiological issues vs. individual issues? For example, hypertension in the African American population is an epidemiological issue, but in the Caucasian population, it is an individual issue. OR 2. Chronic Diseases Discuss the top two chronic diseases seen in adults in your area. (Hypertension and Diabetes) Citations should conform to APA guidelines. NSG4076 – Week 5 Discussion Paper
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Diabetes and Hypertension as the Top Two Chronic Diseases
Diabetes and hypertension are arguably some of the most common chronic diseases in the developed world. Diabetes presents in two main types. These are type I diabetes mellitus and type II diabetes. Typically, type I diabetes affects people beginning from their childhood. The etiology of this type of diabetes is heavily genetic. Type I diabetes results from the production of insufficient amounts of insulin or a complete lack of the hormone. It is postulated that there is an autoimmune mechanism that destroys the pancreatic islets of Langerhans, rendering them ineffective. The standard management for type I diabetes is insulin injection. Type I diabetes leads in later life to some known complications which include retinopathy (problems with vision) and nephropathy (kidney disease). The other type of diabetes is type II diabetes. This one affects people in adulthood and is therefore sometimes referred to as late-onset diabetes. It is caused through an interaction of behavioral, environmental and genetic factors. Notable behavioral factors leading to type II diabetes are obesity, smoking, and alcohol. Type II diabetes is treated by oral medications and behavioral change like exercise (Hammer & McPhee, 2018; Huether & McCance, 2017). NSG4076 – Week 5 Discussion Paper
Hypertension is the other chronic condition that is caused by factors that include calcification (hardening) of the blood vessels and kidney problems. Hypertension itself leads to complications such as cardiovascular disease and renal failure. Hypertension is however manageable with medication and the complications can be delayed as long as possible (Hammer & McPhee, 2018). Both hypertension and diabetes are chronic diseases that show an epidemiological preference to developed countries. However, with increasing globalisation, many cases are now also being experienced in developing countries.
References
Hammer, D.G., & McPhee, S.J. (Eds). (2018). Pathophysiology of disease: An introduction to clinical medicine, 8th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
Huether, S.E. & McCance, K.L. (2017). Understanding pathophysiology, 6th ed. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier, Inc. NSG4076 – Week 5 Discussion Paper
