Gregory Freeman: African-Americans Should Be Aware Of Silent Killer. P-D 10/2/1997

Headline: AFRICAN-AMERICANS SHOULD BE AWARE OF SILENT KILLER
Reporter: By Gregory Freeman

Publication: ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Last Printed: Thu., Oct. 2, 1997
Section: NEWS, Page: 1B, Edition: FIVE STAR LIFT

FOR AGNES CONNOR, the word "diabetes" has been nearly synonymous with the word "family."
   Connor's parents had eight girls and four boys. Of the 12, 10 developed diabetes. Their mother had diabetes, but as they were growing up, doctors were unaware of any relationship between genes and diabetes. "We thought it was coincidence, " said Connor, 63, of Alorton.
   But as time went by, and more and more of her siblings developed diabetes, she knew - and medical science began to discover - that genetics is important after all.
   Two of Connor's sisters and one brother have died, all as a result of complications of diabetes. Connor copes with diabetes as well, and she's on insulin. While she's had some difficulty with eyesight, she says she feels pretty good.

While diabetes can affect anyone, Connor is African-American. According to statistics from the American Diabetes Association, blacks are more than twice as likely to develop diabetes as whites. One in four African-American women over 55 has diabetes, and 25 percent of all blacks in this country between the ages of 65 and 74 have diabetes. Some 15,000 blacks in the St. Louis area are believed to have the disease. But diabetes doesn't affect only African-Americans.
   Hispanics are as much as four times more likely to develop diabetes than whites.
   Korean- and Vietnamese-Americans are four-to-five times more likely to develop it than whites.
   Among Native Americans, it's considered to have reached epidemic proportions.

Experts believe that 16 million people in the United States - of all backgrounds - have diabetes, yet half aren't even aware that they have the disease.
   Dr. Sam Dagogo-Jack says that's because diabetes can be a silent killer, working insidiously inside the body without any early warning signs. By the time symptoms become apparent, the disease has done a great deal of damage.
   Dagogo-Jack is a specialist in diabetes at Barnes Hospital and Washington University, and heads the university's diabetes prevention program. He says diabetes can result in heart attacks or strokes.
   "When we see someone who seems to be in normal health drop dead of a heart attack, we're sometimes quick to say it's heart disease, " he said. "In fact, that person may have died as a result of diabetes. Diabetes is a major risk factor for heart attacks, heart disease and strokes."
   The warning signs of diabetes occur late in the disease. They may include a lack of energy, frequent urination or thirst, blurred vision, cuts or bruises that are slow to heal, or recurring skin, gum or bladder infections.
   Dagogo-Jack said that people whose immediate families had diabetes were at a high risk of developing diabetes. Being overweight is a contributing factor. So is lifestyle. Those who are more physically active are at less of a risk of developing the disease.

In fact, activity is perhaps even more important than weight, the doctor said. He cited studies that show that the more calories a person burns - regardless of weight - the less likely that person is to get diabetes. "Exercise is important, even if there's no weight loss, " he said.
Scientists are now trying to come up with treatments that might help people who are on their way to developing diabetes to reverse the disease. Washington University scientists are recruiting ... < deleted >.

When I was a kid, I can remember older relatives telling me not to eat too many sweets, for fear of developing "sugar" diabetes.
While diabetes has something to do with sugar, it makes little difference how much candy you eat. Instead, diabetes affects the body's ability to produce or respond to insulin, a hormone that lets blood sugar enter the cells of the body to be used for energy. Nearly 20 percent of all people with diabetes develop kidney disease.

There's not a lot of good news here. But the facts make it clear that it's important to stay in touch with a doctor and to have regular checkups.
Clearly, the later the disease is diagnosed, the greater the damage the disease can cause.

For Connor, who has the disease, it could be a matter of life and death - and she knows it. As a result, she says, "I'm in touch with my doctor, and I'm out and about."

A Walktoberfest, a walkathon to raise money for diabetes research ... < deleted >

Daniel Schesch - Webweaver

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