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INDIANAPOLIS A lack of data about Hoosiers with diabetes is reason enough to require an annual report by the State Department of Health to help reduce the disease, a legislator said Wednesday.

Rep. Vanessa Summers, D-Indianapolis, cited limited data from the state health department as she spoke Wednesday before the first session of the Interim Study Committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health and Human Services.

They (health department) make the case for us needing an annual report about whats going on in the state of Indiana dealing with diabetes, Summers said.

State health department representatives told the panel that they did not have a statistical breakdown of Hoosiers with Type 1 or Type 2 (adult) diabetes. But a department representative informed the committee that more than 800,000 Hoosiers have diabetes.

Gary Dougherty, government affairs director for the American Diabetes Association, gave a different estimate: about 695,000 Hoosiers have diabetes.

Statistics from community health centers indicate that Hoosiers making below $35,000 a year are disproportionately affected by the disease.

Dougherty called for a collaborative effort among state agencies to address the health problem in Indiana. He also recommended that legislation be written without a fiscal earmark, instead relying on state staffs to carry out a program. The 2018 legislative session is not a budget session.

Others at the committee meeting Wednesday said the state should develop a diabetes education program, self-management efforts and a plan to reduce and prevent diabetes, which occurs when blood glucose, or sugar, levels rise higher than normal.

One commission member suggested that a statewide effort be financed through county health departments.

Summers, who is insulin dependent, is also a member of the commission.

She told the panel, We know that diabetes is 100 percent preventable and, I know you might be a little surprised about this, 100 percent reversible.

The American Diabetes Association said in 2016 that a study of 30 people showed that diabetes is a potentially reversible condition. An intense weight loss program was able to eliminate diabetes in participants for at least six months, the association reported.

The association also says that about 5 percent of those with diabetes have Type 1, which is usually diagnosed in children and caused by the bodys inability to produce insulin. The majority of those with diabetes have Type II (adult onset), which is often treated with lifestyle changes, pills or insulin.

Read more:
Statewide program proposed to address diabetes - The Rushville Republican

This entry was posted on August 25, 2017 at 9:43 am and is filed under Diabetes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |