Miles 1

Sara Miles

Professor Kretzer

English Composition 2

09 December 2021

How diabetes leads to other health issues

Diabetes is a serious and debilitating disease that is hard on the body.It wreaks havoc on

the patient's body and can cause life changing health issues. It has been linked to cause anything

from permanent nerve damage and bad blood flow to cardiovascular disease and limb

amputation. A lot of people do not take diabetes seriously and do not think that it can cause other

health conditions. This leads right into the argument that is going to be discussed from the

research that has been compiled. Diabetes is such a deadly disease that it makes the body turn

against itself and causes other very serious permanent health issues.

The history of diabetes is very long and complicated with a lot of different people

involved. From as far back as the 1500’s there have been records talking of a medical condition

that sounds very similar to diabetes. “Diabetes has been affecting lives for thousands of years.

An ailment suspected to be diabetes was recognized by the Egyptians in manuscripts dating to

approximately 1550 B.C.”(Porter 2018).Since then there have been other ancient records found

in numerous other languages from different countries such as: Greek, Indian, Arab, Egyptian,

and Chinese. It seems as if they were trying to document what they saw because no caregivers

could understand what was wrong. Eventually in the early twentieth century Edward Albert

Sharpey-Schafer discovered that the pancreas produces insulin. And that if it doesn’t produce

any or not enough that that is what we call diabetes. Eventually not long after in 1936 Harold

Himsworth came up with and defined the different types of it. Since then we have developed
 Miles 2

medication and other tools to help better manage diabetes. One tool is glucose meters which have

evolved from their original bulky 1969 original design. It helps monitor the blood glucose levels

of someone who is a diabetic. There are also different types of medications. Some of which are

pills, others of which are insulin shots to help regulate blood sugar levels. Another tool that has

been very useful in this endeavor is the insulin pump. The pump puts insulin into the wearer's

system when it registers sugar or food being digested. Kind of like how the body is supposed to

naturally do that. The article this information came from was reviewed by a medical

professional.

To know how deadly the consequences can be of having diabetes, first diabetes itself

must be understood. The definition by the mayoclinic editors is “Diabetes mellitus refers to a

group of diseases that affect how your body uses blood sugar (glucose)”(Mayoclinic editors). To

go even further into it diabetes has two main types that people commonly have. Both types have

to do with the ways the body regulates blood sugar. This is the main commonality between the

two types of diabetes. The main difference between the two is all down to how insulin works in

the body. For type 1 diabetics there is little to no insulin that the pancreas produces. Insulin is

kind of like the way the body's cells are told to open up and take in the fuel glucose. When you

think of this in relation to type 1 diabetics it's like their body does not produce Insulin the

chemical that opens the cell. This type of diabetes is also the one that is more prevalent in

children. Because some people are just born with their pancreas not working correctly.

Symptoms associated with type 1 diabetes usually come along quickly because of how integral

insulin is for proper body function. There are also other causes for type 1 diabetes that are from

the body attacking itself. The body of a type 1 diabetic attacks itself by having the diabetics own

immune system getting confused and accidentally going after good cells. Which in this case
 Miles 3

happen to be cells in the pancreas that go about making insulin for the body. In the aftermath the

pancreas is unable to produce anymore insulin and the person becomes a type 1 diabetic. Doctors

and scientists still do not know why the body is attacking itself; there is still ongoing research

about that. The leading theory is that it could be the product of having an autoimmune disease.

Type 2 diabetes is very similar but at the same time very different from type 1. Instead of

the pancreas not producing enough or no insulin at all it does something else. It produces the

wrong type of insulin than what the body needs for the cells to accept glucose. Think of it as the

insulin not having the right receptors to open up the cell. Because if the receptors on the insulin

do not match up to the ones on the cell then the insulin does not work. Doctors still are not sure

why this happens but it could be genetic. Or it has also been thought that being more overweight

and not getting enough exercise can contribute. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type that

most people have if they develop diabetes. “Ninety to 95 percent of people with diabetes have

type 2”(Osborn 2020).

Types 1 and 2 are different in fundamental ways when both are looked into and

compared.They both have basically the same risk factors. One of which is family history which

is if the immediate family to you has type 1 or 2 diabetes. Your risks can also go up the older you

get because your body does not work as efficiently. Another one which is very similar to the first

is genetics which is basically your bloodline is more susceptible to it.

The first way that the body turns against itself because of diabetes is the development of

permanent nerve damage. Not everyone gets it but a good amount of diabetics do. When nerve

damage comes from being a diabetic it is called neuropathy. Neuropathy does not happen in

every diabetic but there is a good chunk that do have it. In that chunk it is usually those who

have had diabetes for a long amount of time and the body starts having issues. Nerve damage is
 Miles 4

one of the most common problems of anyone with any type of diabetes. There are two different

kinds of nerve damage that can happen. The first is peripheral neuropathy which causes the

hands and feet to either tingle, have pain, or go numb. The second is autonomic neuropathy

which is when the nerves that are in control of the body's systems.

Peripheral neuropathy is the one more prevalent in people with diabetes. Like it was

stated before it causes tingles, pain, and numbness in the hands and feet. The more common of

these that is most complained about by diabetics is these sensations in the feet. Health issues that

happen in the feet are most commonly related to the nerves in the feet being damaged. What is

one of the more concerning aspects of this is the numbness. Diabetics with this health issue are

less able to feel pain, heat, and cold on their feet. Which means something wrong could be going

on with the feet and the patient not even knowing that it’s happening. Another thing that happens

when diabetics have nerve damage in their feet is the shape of them changing. That leads to not

being able to fit in certain shoes and possibly damaging the feet more.

And finally the most drastic thing that can happen from nerve damage caused by diabetes

is amputation. Because a diabetic with neuropathy cannot feel their feet it can lead them to not

realizing serious issues with them. This paired with PAD (peripheral artery disease) which

reduces blood flow to the feet can lead to this very serious outcome. “Together, these problems

make it easy to get ulcers and infections that may lead to amputation”(Diabetes.org). Another

thing that can also affect the small blood vessels of a diabetic this way to lead to amputation is

smoking. Smoking does this by affecting the blood flow of someone’s body. Which makes all

processes of the body work slowly including healing. It has been shown by researchers that when

statistics are looked at more diabetic amputees that they are more often smokers than not.
 Miles 5

A second way the body of a diabetic can turn against itself is diabetes can cause or

worsen cardiovascular disease. “The association of a combination of ideal cardiovascular health

(ICH) metrics (blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), physical activity,

and smoking) with self-reported health, diabetes, and body fat percentage was examined among

729 AA male participants from the 2017 and 2018 AAMWWs”(Aboagye-Mensah).

Cardiovascular disease in people with diabetes is one of the most serious things you need to look

out for. In cardiovascular disease there are serious health issues with the heart and blood vessels

throughout the body. It has been shown throughout different studies that cardiovascular disease

is one of the highest causes of death for diabetics. Diabetes is also one of the leading risk factors

that cause heart failure. This means it is a direct causation of it which in turn proves the thesis of

diabetes causing the body to harm itself. There is also evidence that the longer you have had

diabetes that there is more risk of heart disease. “The study, which pooled the results of 26

previous ones, revealed a clear pattern: The younger people were when they developed type 2

diabetes, the greater their risk of complications like heart disease and stroke”(Norton 2020). This

is another piece of evidence that proves the thesis of diabetes causing the body to go against

itself and cause more serious health conditions.

One of the most serious types of cardiovascular disease is atherosclerosis. Diabetes is

also listed as one of the leading risk factors for it. Diabetes as stated before also affects the blood

vessels that run all throughout the body. It causes them to get smaller and shrink but also can

cause a build up in plaque in them as well. Which causes them to narrow even more than they

already were before. Remember that blood vessels are what transport oxygen to all parts of the

body which need it. Which is everything from the limbs to all the internal organs the most vital

of which are the heart and the brain. If this happens in the heart it could cause a heart attack that
 Miles 6

could lead to death or other serious complications. If this happens in the brain it would cause a

stroke which again could lead to death or other very serious health complications.

The next health condition that is caused by diabetes that will be discussed is kidney

disease. The kidneys are the organs in the body that filters the waste products that the body

produces after eating. The waste then gets transported to where it will then be taken out of the

body. When someone has diabetes this can cause some serious issues with this delicate system.

Because of the high amount of sugar in the blood it makes the kidneys filter the blood too much.

This causes the filters in the kidneys to be overworked. And causes wear and tear on the kidneys

that can lead to some bad health conditions. Also from the kidneys continuously filtering the

blood from the sugar other wastes in it start to build up. After this not long after the kidneys

finally start to fail.

After the kidneys fail there is little that can be done about it. If it is caught in enough time

there are some medical treatments that might help. But if it is too far gone then that can also lead

to more serious complications. The most severe of course being death caused by the waste that is

not being filtered out of the blood. One way to resolve this would be trying to get a kidney

transplant. But the way it usually goes is the person going to dialysis to have a machine filter

their blood for them. If at any time they do not do this the waste will once again build up in the

blood. Which will cause them to die shortly after if it is not taken care of. This is just another

way that diabetes causes the body to go against itself once again proving the thesis.

The final health condition that will be discussed in this paper caused by diabetes is skin

complications. There are more health conditions out there caused by diabetes but this will be the

last discussed in this. One of the first outside physical signs of diabetes health issues involving

the skin. Information gathered so far says that diabetes can make new skin conditions appear as
 Miles 7

well as making any pre existing ones worse. Obviously anyone can have skin conditions and not

have diabetes but with diabetes it can cause them to be worse. And also cause others to pop up

when you did not have prior. Though there are some skin conditions that only happen if you have

diabetes which are as follows: Diabetic dermopathy, Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum,

Diabetic blisters, and Eruptive xanthomatosis. Others that are caused by diabetes are bacterial

infections like styes, boils, and infection under the nail. The infection without proper care and

antibiotics can be very life threatening but these days this is avoidable. People with diabetes are

also more likely to get fungal infections like athlete's foot or ringworm. While also if they are

female more likely to get yeast infections. Diabetics can even have allergic reactions on their

skin from the medication they have to take.

The type of skin condition that is most seen in diabetics is that of bacterial infections.

There are others that happen that are more rare. Like Disseminated granuloma annulare which

causes raised reddish-brown raised areas on the body. Another one is Digital sclerosis which is

the development of waxy thick skin most commonly on the hands. This only occurs in type 1

diabetics that do not have their diabetes under control. Another rare skin condition that can only

happen from having diabetes in diabetic blisters. Which are blisters caused by the patient's blood

sugar not being under control. The most rare kind which mostly occurs in adult women is

Necrobiosis lipoidica diabeticorum. This causes dull red spots that later turn shiny with a darker

border that will become itchy and painful. It does not need medical treatment unless these spots

break open. These skin conditions are directly coming from diabetes. This further proves the

thesis of diabetes causing serious health conditions.

Aside from having plenty of evidence to the contrary there are still a good amount of

people out there who do not believe this to be true. One reason that they do not believe this is
 Miles 8

that they believe that all of these conditions just happen to be occurring at the same time. That all

of these serious health conditions have other causes other than diabetes. Because a lot of people

do not take diabetes seriously and often do not take care of it. Which can lead to many of the

health conditions that were stated in this paper so far. There are many diabetics out there who

ignore their disease and do not take care of it. This has been proven by many surveys taken by

dianetic people themselves. This counterargument is mainly based on a lot of people just not

taking diabetes seriously. They just do not want to believe that one disease could do that much

damage to the body and that you need to be careful.

Another counterargument against the idea that diabetes causes and worsens other health

issues is this. Some do not believe that there is a good amount of evidence that shows how

diabetes can worsen other health issues. This is of the mindset that this condition was there

before and it is worsening because it just is. And that all they have to do is regulate that condition

more and it will clear up. Not that the diabetes is causing it to get worse because of it causing

stuff to go on.

There are ways people can prevent diabetes that is if you are not born with it. Some

people are born with either type 1 or 2 diabetes and they have to live and deal with everything

that it brings to them. But for people not born with it there are easy ways of prevention. Number

one is do not consume a lot of food or products with a lot of sugar. Try to have a balanced diet

and make sure to exercise. Also look out for the warning signs of diabetes like frequent

urinations, fatigue, and many others. There are also some ways in which people with diabetes

can prevent themselves from developing any further health issues. The first and foremost thing

with that is regulating blood sugar. So then serious health conditions like kidney disease are a lot

less likely to happen. A lot of skin conditions that are connected to diabetes could be prevented
 Miles 9

by just regulating blood sugar. Because a lot of these health conditions would not really happen

if the patient's diabetes was just regulated.

Diabetes in the end will always be a very debilitating deadly disease. Anyone of the

rising number of diabetics will have very serious side effects from having this disease. Many of

which are other serious health conditions. Like as stated before things like permanent nerve

damage, vein blockage, cardiovascular disease, and many many more. Even though there are

always going to be people who do not take this disease seriously there must be more information

put out. So that people from every walk of life will know how deadly diabetes actually is. And

how just from having one disease it can cause a whole lot of other serious health problems.
 Miles 10

Works Cited

Aboagye-Mensah, Emmanuela B., et al. “The Association of Ideal Cardiovascular Health

with Self-Reported Health, Diabetes, and Adiposity in African

American Males.” Preventive Medicine Reports, vol. 19, Sept. 2020. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2020.101151.

Cunneen, A. Scott, Dunbar, A. Stephanie, Kaneshiro, Sayles Nancy, Schade, S. David,

Scheffler, M. Neil, Verdi, L. Cassandra, Weisenberger, Jill. “21 Things You Need to

Know About Diabetes Omnibus Edition” HighBridge Audio. 2018.

de Souza, Igor D., et al. “Potential Health Risks of Macro- and Microelements in

Commercial

Longhurst, Adrienne Santos. “Type 2 Diabetes and Skin Health”. Healthline.com.

Website. 08 April 2019. https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/skin-

problems

“Cardiovascular Disease” in Diabetic Complications. Diabetes.org. Website.

https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/complications/cardiovascular-disease

“Foot Complications” in Diabetic Complications. Diabetes.org. Website.

https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/complications/foot-complications

“Kidney Disease (Nephropathy)” in Diabetic Complications. Diabetes.org. Website.

https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/complications/kidney-disease-nephropathy

“Neuropathy” in Diabetes overview. Diabetes.org. Website.

https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/complications/neuropathy
 Miles 11

“Skin Complications” in Diabetes overview. Diabetes.org. Website.

https://www.diabetes.org/diabetes/complications/skin-complications

Medicinal Plants Used to Treatment of Diabetes.” BioMed Research International, Apr.

2021, pp. 1–11. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1155/2021/6678931.

Norton, Amy. “Type 2 Diabetes in Youth Is Especially Unhealthy:Study” in the

usnews.com. Website Newspaper. 15 December 2020.

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-12-15/type-2-diabetes-in-

youth-is-especially-unhealthy-study

Mayo Clinic Staff. “Diabetes” in Mayoclinic.org. Website.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-

20371444

Miles, Scott. “Personal Interview” will be conducted November 2021.

“That Diabetes Documentary - Episode 1: The Rising Tide of Diabetes”. Youtube.

Uploaded by Diabetes Smart Program, 25 February 2020,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4eiaiXQNZ0

Osborn, Corrine O’Keefe. “Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes: What's the Difference?”,

healthline.com.Website. 28 October 2020. https://www.healthline.com/health/difference-

between-type-1-and-type-2-diabetes

Porter, Eloise. “History of Diabetes”, healthline.com. Website. 18 September 2018.

https://www.healthline.com/health/history-type-1-diabetes
Miles 12