DESPITE BAD NEWS ABOUT BAD HEALTH, DIABETES FOUNDATION PROVIDES MISSISSIPPIANS WITH OPTIMISM

In six Mississippi Delta counties, these are the average life expectancies for someone’s grandma, brother, uncle, mom, best friend, cousin, neighbor and co-worker.

“Mississippi is No. 1 in the nation with the highest incidence of diabetes and obesity, which accounts for at least part of these low life expectancies,” said Mary Fortune, executive vice president of the Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi (DFM). “Diabetes is reaching near-epidemic proportions, affecting more than 21 million Americans.  In the Magnolia State alone, this figure includes 346,500 Mississippians with diabetes of whom 110,000 have not been diagnosed, and an estimated 850,000 who are at risk for developing the chronic disease– all together over half of the state’s population.”

And what’s more, diabetes is the fifth-leading cause of death by disease in the United States, she said, and the higher rates of obesity, diabetes and blood pressure among a greater percentage of sick individuals are contributing to these low life expectancy rates.

Coahoma, Sunflower, Washington, Tunica, Tallahatchie and Quitman counties have some of the lowest average life expectancies in the U.S., according to a 2006 Harvard study.

Coahoma County leads the Mississippi counties with an average life expectancy of 70.1 years, with Sunflower and Washington counties following suit at 71.1 years and the remaining three counties tied at 71.2 years, as listed in the study entitled, “Eight Americas: Investigating Mortality Disparities across Races, Counties and Race-Counties in the United States.”      
    
“The situation is very serious now, and current studies indicate that one in three children in Mississippi will develop diabetes in his or her lifetime. This translates to an unhealthy future for Mississippi if we don’t do something now to raise awareness and slow down the devastation caused by diabetes in our communities,” said Fortune.

Armed with a mission of hope, compassion and service, the DFM– the state’s only nonprofit health organization that provides diabetes research, information, patient services and advocacy for Mississippians–works toward addressing health disparities in the Delta and throughout Mississippi, thus helping increase life expectancy rates for all Mississippians living with diabetes.

Often going hand-in-hand with diabetes are heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases.
According to the Mississippi Department of Health’s “Cardiovascular Report  Card for Mississippi” for 2005 to 2006, “Many of the deaths due to coronary heart disease are premature– one in five CVD deaths occurs before age 65. Cardiovascular diseases are also leading causes of chronic ill-health and disability.”

Furthermore, the MDH report card states that “Cardiovascular deaths, including diabetes, are responsible for more than 12,000 deaths each year in Mississippi. Yet much of the premature death, illness and disability due to CVD is preventable.”

Good-eating habits and regular exercise are two easy ways to help control diabetes and prevent cardiovascular complications, Fortune said.  Type 1 diabetes is always treated with insulin, although Type 2 may be managed with diet and exercise. The hemoglobin A1C test, which provides a person with their average blood glucose control over a three-month period (goal is 6.5 percent or less), can determine whether their diabetes management plan is adequate or if it is time for a lifestyle adjustment and/or change in medicine. The AIC also can help predict a person’s risks for having a stroke or heart attack, and the DFM encourages Mississippians to know their AIC and work with their health-care provider to bring their AIC closer to goal.

 “Eating healthy foods and getting plenty of exercise are a good start to controlling diabetes and preventing heart and cardiovascular diseases,” said Fortune. “These are good habits for everyone to get into, not just those with diabetes.  For people with diabetes, there are specific food plans that can be of great value, including the lower fat plans and carbohydrate counting.”

Carbohydrate counting allows flexibility in the meal plan and involves working with a dietician to determine the right servings of carbs needed to keep blood glucose in control as well as maintain or lose weight.

“For more information about the specific dieting plans, please talk to a dietician or family doctor about the method best suited for your needs,” she said.

The Diabetes Foundation of Mississippi works as an advocate for all of Mississippians affected by diabetes, and they are able to help address cardiovascular health along with the rising number of Mississippians facing diabetes.

“Four out of five Mississippi adults over the age of 45 have at least one of the six major cardiovascular risk factors. To reduce the prevalence of CVD risk factors in the population, more Mississippians need to stop smoking, become more active, lose weight, control their blood pressure, eat a healthier diet and lower their blood cholesterol level. The prevention must start at an early age, since the processes that lead to CVD in middle or old age begin in childhood and adolescence,” the MDH report states.

Because the DFM believes in the importance of diabetes prevention and healthy management of diabetes, the organization is at the forefront of healthy-lifestyle promotion, particularly through its diabetes management programs focused on children. Among these programs are “It’s Not a Sweet Subject,” a program geared toward instructing Mississippi teachers and school and daycare staffs on how to recognize and respond to diabetes emergencies.

“If we at the DFM are able to help even in the smallest way– whether it’s through providing people with medical supplies that they otherwise would have done without, instructing Mississippi schools’ educators on how to better serve students with diabetes or visiting a newly-diagnosed child in the hospital to give them information and support– we consider ourselves successful,” said Fortune. “And although diabetes awareness and good health, in general, are a work in progress, still it is progress.”

“We look forward to the day when family members, friends and coworkers will defy the statistics and expectations and live even one year longer,” she said.

The DFM’s mission is to provide hope through research, programs and service to the 346,500 Mississippians with diabetes, and every dollar raised by the organization stays in the state to support these efforts. Likewise, 90 cents of every dollar raised goes towards the DFM’s charitable purposes. The DFM is the one diabetes organization totally dedicated to all Mississippians– from children to seniors– who live with diabetes.

For more information about the Harvard study, visit Public Library of Science online at http://medicine.plosjournals.org.  To join in the fight against diabetes at home, call the DFM at 1-877-DFM-CURE, or visit the Web site www.msdiabetes.org.