Diabetes

Diabetes is a group of diseases affecting how sugar is processed in the body. While diabetes is manageable with proper medical care, it can cause serious and debilitating health complications. It affected well over 30 million Americans by 2024, including hundreds of thousands of Arkansas residents.

The earliest mention of diabetes comes from ancient Egyptian medical texts from around 1550 BC. The condition was not called “diabetes” until around 250 BC when Greek physicians began using the Greek word for “siphon” or “to run through or to pass through” to describe the disease. In the nineteenth century, a clear connection between diabetes and the pancreas was established by medical science.

Before the development of insulin, there were few treatments available for diabetes. Before the 1800s, many treatments included changes in diets and an array of drugs, including opium. Many treatments as late as 1920 included medications that had arsenic, a common poison, as a major component. This treatment has since been completely discredited. In fact, medical science has found a connection between arsenic exposure and increased rates of diabetes, in addition to such factors as genetics, poor diet, and sedentary lifestyles.

Canadian physicians Frederick Banting and John Macleod, along with Charles Best, discovered insulin in 1921 after experimenting with pancreas extracts. Insulin is a hormone produced naturally by the pancreas that regulates the amount of sugar in the bloodstream. Insulin treatments since developed have allowed people with diabetes to live relatively healthy lives. Today, regular insulin injections accompanied with proper diet and exercise are the standard treatments for most cases of diabetes.

Different types of diabetes have been identified by doctors. Each type of diabetes is a serious medical condition. If the body cannot control the amount of sugar (glucose) in the bloodstream, it can cause blackouts and comas or disrupt the ability of certain organs to function properly, critically damaging them in the long term. The damage that diabetes does to blood vessels in the eyes can lead to vision problems as well as permanent blindness. Damage to the blood vessels and circulation caused by diabetes can lead to the need for amputation of limbs. Heart conditions and kidney ailments can develop as a result of diabetes. In extreme circumstances, diabetes can also lead to death. Though the connection is not yet clear, research suggests that diabetes can be a risk factor in the development of Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Each form of diabetes requires careful monitoring of blood sugar levels.

Type I diabetes is caused by the immune system attacking the cells (often called beta cells) that produce insulin. This type of diabetes can develop in childhood and in decades past was sometimes called “juvenile diabetes” because of this. It often develops very suddenly. Only about five percent of people develop Type I diabetes. It is more common in white people, people under age twenty, and those who have a sibling or parent with Type I diabetes.

Symptoms for Type I diabetes include increased urination, increased thirst, changes in weight, upset stomach and vomiting, labored breathing, increased hunger even after eating, fatigue, blurry vision, and frequent urinary tract infections. There is no known prevention for Type I diabetes.

Type II diabetes is caused by insufficient production of insulin by the beta cells in the pancreas. It can cause heart disease, strokes, blindness, and kidney failure. Type II diabetes is often preceded by a condition known as prediabetes, in which blood sugars remain unusually elevated.

Obesity, a lack of exercise, smoking, and genetics can all contribute to an increased likelihood of developing the condition. As world obesity rates climbed starting in the late twentieth century, rates of Type II diabetes increased accordingly. Symptoms for Type II diabetes include increased thirst, increased urination, difficulty with wounds healing, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss. Type II diabetes can be prevented with regular exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, and eating a healthy diet that includes fruits and vegetables and minimizes sugar and saturated fats. Though Type II diabetes can sometimes go into remission with lifestyle changes that include a healthier diet and exercise, it is still a condition that needs monitoring by a medical professional.

The American Diabetes Association estimates that about 14 percent of Arkansas residents have Type II diabetes and at least 35 percent have prediabetes. Diabetes is often diagnosed through blood sugar levels, specifically glucose. Diabetes is defined by having a sustained blood glucose level over 126 milligrams per deciliter after an eight-hour fast. Prediabetes is defined with levels of 100–125 after an eight-hour fast.

Gestational diabetes is an often temporary form of diabetes that can occur in pregnancy. As with other forms of diabetes, the body is not able to process sugar normally. This condition usually ends after the woman gives birth, but it can increase susceptibility to developing diabetes later in life. The Arkansas Department of Health states that women with obesity or a family history of diabetes are more at risk for gestational diabetes. While women of any race are susceptible, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans have a higher rate of gestational diabetes than others. If left untreated, it can significantly increase the risk of stillbirth.

The number of diabetes cases increased sharply in the nation between 2002 and 2015, with approximately 18,000 new cases identified each year in the state. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that, in 2021, there were 291,000 adults with diabetes in Arkansans. In 2021, the CDC estimated that diabetes and its associated conditions cost Arkansas $3.1 billion each year. With nearly 400,000 deaths from diabetes or complications directly caused by diabetes nationwide in 2021, the CDC listed it as the eighth leading cause of death in the United States; this includes nearly 4,550 deaths in Arkansas from diabetes and diabetes-related causes.

While public health campaigns in the state remain limited, the Arkansas Department of Health provides information on its website about diabetes treatment, diagnosis, and prevention as well as information available from county health units and local health providers.

For additional information:
“Diabetes.” Arkansas Department of Health. https://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programs-services/topics/diabetes (accessed March 14, 2025).

“Diabetes—State Profiles.” Centers for Disease Control. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes-state-local/php/index.html?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/programs/stateandlocal/state-diabetes-profiles/arkansas.html (accessed March 14, 2025).

“Diabetes State Burden Toolkit.” Centers for Disease Control. https://nccd.cdc.gov/Toolkit/DiabetesBurden/Home/Index (accessed March 14, 2025).

“National Diabetes Statistics Report 2020.” Arkansas Department of Health. https://healthy.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/national-diabetes-statistics-report.pdf (accessed March 14, 2025).

Kenneth Bridges
South Arkansas College