I) Introduction:
Diabetes mellitus, also referred to as diabetes, is a condition that occurs when the body cannot produce or use glucose normally. There are two types of diabetes mellitus: type 1 diabetes mellitus is more prevalent in children and adolescents and type 2 diabetes mellitus occurs at any age (Bervoets et al., 2017).
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people with diabetes rose from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. The worldwide estimates of new cases of diabetes are 98,200 for children under 20 years.
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In the United States, about 210,000 Americans below age 20 have diabetes, amounting to 0.25% of the overall population. The prevalence of diabetes among children and adolescents has been rising significantly in the recent past.
Diabetes mellitus is a lifelong disease with no cure. Children and adolescents with the condition may have to live with it all their lives, making it imperative to study the impacts that the disease can have.
Diabetes mellitus negatively impacts the health, psychological well-being, social life, and quality of life of children and adolescents, making it necessary to have interventions that can reduce these adverse effects.
II) Body
Use your first fact, idea, demonstration, or support for your thesis.
Regarding the psychosocial implications of diabetes mellitus, emerging challenges remain evident in both social life and the quality of life of children.
Since diabetes mellitus is a prolonged disease that not only affects a host of persons but also leads to early morbidity and eventual mortality, its diagnosis and prognosis encompasses parental and school concerns as well as other social spheres of a child’s life (Kakkar & Puri, 2016).
Post diagnosis effects often center on the psychology of those involved. At first, the news of diagnosis often brings about feelings of denial, despair, shock, and fear of the unknown. Severe setbacks follow in the case of the parents with most of them taking time to reconcile with their entire situation.
Within family relations also, stress clouds the initial phase often resulting in role and responsibility conflicts.
Similarly, children face psychological issues, considering its occurrence at an early age. All these factors show the negative impacts of the disease
(B) Second piece of evidence.
On a similar vein, social concerns on both the parents and children often occur in the case of diabetes mellitus .
In many occasions, the management of diabetes for a child or adolescent can feel like juggling between a stable social life and stable blood sugar. In adolescents suffering from diabetes mellitus , social life often seems to encompass two major characteristics: alcohol and food.
Among peers, adolescents cannot often control their food and drink intake with carbohydrates and sugar timing veering out of hand on some occasions.
Alongside this, blood sugar timing may be unsuitable, which may bring about peer issues and conflicts in cases where understanding is lacking.
Similarly, parents must make uncomfortable adjustments when it comes to food and drinks at home, which may bring about social disagreements that are quite common yet unbecoming.
(C) Third piece of evidence.
Due to psychosocial effects, diabetes mellitus often leads to grievous mental diseases on children and adolescents.
Most notably, depression occurs among those suffering from diabetes mellitus. Roy and Lloyd (2012) systematically review the epidemiology of depression and diabetes showing the commonality of depression and co-morbid diseases.
Evidence from key publications shows a higher level of depression, especially among those suffering from complications such as food-related diseases. Diabetes also affects brain function by bringing about structural changes predominantly in the brain’s grey matter of the cortex (Snircova, Hrtanek, Kulhan, Nosalova & Ondrejka, 2015).
Such alterations of brain function often lead to behavioral changes such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among children and adolescents.
(D) Fourth piece of evidence .
Diabetes mellitus leads to blood vessel damage.
Often, high glucose levels have immense impacts on small blood vessels such as those of the retina. Interference among these vessels leads to the degradation of vision-perceiving tissues, which can potentially cause vision loss over time.
Especially among children and adolescents, the risk is perpetually existent in their lives. Besides vision loss, kidney disease is also a real risk that may eventually lead to kidney failure.
Numerous health complications associated with diabetes mellitus are experienced in both childhood and adolescence.
(E) Fifth piece of evidence.
Nerve damage occurs due to a persistent elevation of blood sugar levels that leads to unresponsive body organs.
Children diagnosed with diabetes mellitus often undergo various complications, and over time, experience nerve damage that leads to a host of other health problems, including gastrointestinal damage, urine retention, rapid heart rates, and dizziness, among others.
Equally, damaged nerves cause burning, tingling, and numbing sensations on the hands and feet. These health complications can be numerous and diverse on a single child or adolescent.
More often, they are the primary cause of other health problems that affect the mental psychological and social well-being of a child or adolescent.
III) Conclusion
Diabetes mellitus negatively affects the well-being of a child and adolescent in all spheres of life. As such, interventions have become quite necessary.
Some of the best interventions, which have little to no side effects, are those considered non-pharmacological. Such interventions include the combination of dietary and physical advice, with consistent follow-up and regular reinforcement, coupled with standard care.
Patients who adhere to specific lifestyle changes often witness notable improvements in their overall health situation within months (Gillett et al., 2012). Therefore, while the effects of diabetes mellitus are in numerous cases quite diverse and complicated, interventions are available and possible in various states.
References
Gillett, M., Royle, P., Snaith, A., Scotland, G., Poobalan, A., & Imamura, M. et al. (2012). Non-pharmacological interventions to reduce the risk of diabetes in people with impaired glucose regulation: A systematic review and economic evaluation. Health Technology Assessment , 16 (33). DOI: 10.3310/hta16330
Kakkar, J., & Puri, S. (2016). Psychosocial implications of type 1 diabetes mellitus among children in India: An emerging challenge for social work profession. Open Journal of Psychiatry & Allied Sciences , 7 (2), 103. DOI: 10.5958/2394-2061.2016.00016.1
Roy, T., & Lloyd, C. (2012). Epidemiology of depression and diabetes: A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders , 142 , S8-S21. DOI: 10.1016/s0165-0327(12)70004-6
Snircova, E., Hrtanek, I., Kulhan, T., Nosalova, G., & Ondrejka, I. (2015). Atomoxetine and methylphenidate treatment in ADHD. Acta Medica Martiniana , 5 (1), 20-26. DOI: 10.1515/acm-2015-0003
