Diabetes and COPD Conference
| From: Nov 5th, 2011 @ 8:00 am To: Nov 5th, 2011 @ 12:00 pm | < Previous Page |
November is the national awareness month for two very
critical diseases-Diabetes and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Function (COPD).Nationally,
COPD is ranked 4th in the leading causes of death and diabetes is
ranked 7th. In Arkansas, the statics are close, COPD 4th
and diabetes 6th.
“The Clopton Clinic Foundation has hosted a Diabetic
Awareness Conference for the last four years that has been very successful,”
said Kara Anderson, Director. “Throughout the year we offer several COPD
screenings as well. Because of the high negative statistics that COPD and
diabetes both disease have in the state, we decided to combine the two in one
conference and to offer more education and screening for the community.”
In the United States today 20.8 million people, nearly 7
percent of the population suffers from diabetes. Of those 14.6 million are
diagnosed and 6.2 million are undiagnosed. Approximately 176,500 of the
diagnosed are under the age of 20.
Chronic
Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, refers to a group of diseases that
cause airflow blockage and breathing-related problems. It includes emphysema,
chronic bronchitis, and in some cases asthma. In 2005, COPD caused an estimated
126,005 U.S. deaths in people older than 25 years. This was an 8% increase from
116,494 in the year 2000. For women, the number of deaths related to COPD in
2005 was 65,193, while for men it was 60,812
The
Diabetic Awareness Conference will be held on Saturday, November 5, at the
Southwest Church of Christ. From 8:00 am-Noon, there will be free screenings
and educational sessions for the public.
“Screenings
will include glucose, blood pressure, BMI, eye, foot, pulmonary function and
dental. Anderson said. We will also be
offering the Alpha-1 Test on Saturday.”
Alpha-1, also known
as Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, is a disorder passed on by a person’s
parents, which results in low levels or no levels of a protein in the blood.
This protein is called alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT).If you have Alpha-1 you may
get a severe lung and/or liver disease or pass the flawed AAT gene on to your
children. In people lacking the AAT protein, the AAT made in the liver cannot
be fully released into the blood.
Signs
that suggest Alpha-1 include shortness
of breath at rest or with exercise, wheezing, coughing, repeated lung
infections, sputum (or phlegm) production, history of suspected allergies
and/or asthma.
It is important to
note that people with Alpha-1 may not show any signs of the disorder for many
years. This does not mean that you will not have symptoms in the future.
We have scheduled several educational breakout sessions
including: What is COPD and Living With It?; Positive Medical
Breakthroughs in Diabetes; Smoking Cessation; Exercise and COPD: Exercise and
Diabetes; Diet Tips for Diabetics; Diabetes and Your Eyes
and many more,: said Anderson.
Breakout sessions will begin at 10:00 am. Seating is limited in each session and on a
first come first serve basis.
“Our goal is to have any person that is a diabetic or has COPD, has a
family member who is a diabetic or has COPD, or thinks they may have symptoms
of diabetes or COPD, come to this conference, Said Anderson. “It’s important
for them to learn all about diabetes and COPD, how to control it, instead of
letting it control you,” Anderson said.
For more information go to www.cloptonfoundation.org.
