A recent article from the Hilton Head Health Institute stated,
"The evidence is growing that diabetes - especially "late onset" type 2
diabetes - is becoming an epidemic. American's well-known attachment to
the "couch potato" lifestyle - fatty, high calorie foods and an aversion
to exercise - may be the contributing factor to the spread of the
disease. On the opposite side of the coin, the healthy lifestyle is
believed to contribute to diabetes prevention and management." A January
9, 2006 New York Times article declared, "that the Centers for Disease
Control estimate that 21 million Americans are currently diabetic while
41 million more are suffering from pre-diabetic symptoms, and many
aren't even aware of it yet. Over the past decade, the rate of diabetes
has increased 80% in the US. Yet most health officials still emphasize
the threat of communicable diseases, which are far less deadly than
chronic conditions such as diabetes."
Any life insurance agent
that has been around for very long will attest to the statements made in
that article. Diabetics now make up a large percentage of our client
base and the number of people diagnosed as diabetic or pre or borderline
diabetic on life insurance exams has sky rocketed. While most diabetics
are insurable at fair rates, it is alarming to see how many diabetics
have truly stayed somewhat uneducated about their condition and do not
fully comprehend or care about the fact that diabetes can have a
compounding effect on other health issues and ultimately be at least the
root cause of a health decline that leads to an early death. Those
diabetics who do take the situation seriously, educating themselves,
monitoring their diabetes and taking control of other risk factors such
as hypertension and obesity, can ultimately lead a long, healthy life.
Not surprising that this group is also rewarded with life insurance
rates that reflect their concern with their own longevity. It should be
no secret that life insurance companies reward those who have an
interest in their own mortality.
Those that do not take care of
themselves are usually still insurable, but will pay a premium that
reflects the end of the risk pool they have chosen to swim in. Not
understanding the disease, not monitoring your glucose on a regular
basis, not changing your lifestyle and not being compliant with your
physician's suggestions will all contribute to higher rates that you
really have to pay if your concern factor was a bit higher. Good quiz
for a diabetic: Do you know what your hbA1C, or A1C level is? Do you
even know what it is referring to? The A1C, a test done by your
physician every time you have a checkup is a measure of how well you are
controlling your diabetes. Blood glucose binds to the hemoglobin
through a process called glycosylation. The higher the blood sugar the
more the glucose binds to the hemoglobin. A blood test can measure the
amount of glycosylation that has occurred revealing the average blood
glucose levels for the previous three to four months before the test.
Do
you understand why this is important to you? With a healthy A1C level
of say, 6.5 or less, you know that your glucose is staying in check over
long periods. Do not fool yourself into believing that the glucose
reading you took before breakfast this morning is indicative of where
your glucose is all the time. For instance, let us say you take your
glucose at an optimal time, before breakfast, and the reading is 110.
Then let us assume that your A1C is 7.5. That would indicate that your
average glucose over the last 3 months is around 165. So, if the average
is 165 and the low end is 110, that means that there are many times
when your glucose is well over 200, not a healthy level. What are the
complications of type 2 diabetes? What really worries life insurance
underwriters? This list came from the American Diabetes Association
website. www.diabetes.org:
Heart Disease and Stroke
People
with diabetes have extra reason to be mindful of heart and blood vessel
disease. Diabetes carries an increased risk for heart attack, stroke,
and complications related to poor circulation.
Kidney Disease
Diabetes
can damage the kidneys, which not only can cause them to fail, but can
also make them lose their ability to filter out waste products.
Eye Complications
Diabetes
can cause eye problems and may lead to blindness. People with diabetes
do have a higher risk of blindness than people without diabetes. Early
detection and treatment of eye problems can save your sight.
Diabetic Neuropathy and Nerve Damage
One
of the most common complications of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy.
Neuropathy means damage to the nerves that run throughout the body,
connecting the spinal cord to muscles, skin, blood vessels, and other
organs.
Foot Complications
People
with diabetes can develop many different foot problems. Foot problems
most often happen when there is nerve damage in the feet or when blood
flow is poor. Learn how to protect your feet by following some basic
guidelines.
Skin Complications
As
many as one-third of people with diabetes will have a skin disorder
caused or affected by diabetes at some time in their lives. In fact,
such problems are sometimes the first sign that a person has diabetes.
Luckily, most skin conditions can be prevented or easily treated if
caught early.
Gastroparesis and Diabetes
Gastroparesis is a disorder that affects people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
Depression
Feeling
down once in a while is normal. But some people feel a sadness that
just won't go away. Life seems hopeless. Feeling this way most of the
day for two weeks or more is a sign of serious depression.
Ultimately
there is good news for type 2 diabetics working to acquire life
insurance. With improvements in treatment and all of the available
diabetic education, you can control your condition and to a great extent
control your ability to get affordable life insurance. Type
1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes, often called juvenile diabetes, is
different from type 2 diabetes but often has many of the same
complications. While type 2 diabetes is occurs when a person has too
little natural insulin or his or her body is not able to use the insulin
`effectively, type 1 diabetes is the absence of insulin altogether.
From www.ehealthmd.com
we get this take on the cause of type 1 diabetes. "Diabetes is an
autoimmune disease. That means the body's defense system attacks some of
the body's own cells. In type 1 diabetes, the cells in the pancreas
that make insulin are destroyed, and therefore they are no longer
capable of making insulin.
We don't know exactly why this happens,
but we do know that some people are born with a tendency to develop
diabetes. Then something "triggers" the onset of the disease. It may be a
virus that triggers the onset, or it may be something in the
environment. There is nothing a person can do to prevent this from
happening."
That having been said, a person with type 1 diabetes
is left with two options. They can control their diabetes by
persistently monitoring their glucose levels and being very committed
and dogmatic about administering insulin as prescribed. There is an
often-misunderstood relationship between diet and diabetes. The Mayo
Clinic's website at www.mayoclinic.com
suggests the following: "Contrary to popular perception, there is no
diabetes diet. Furthermore, having diabetes doesn't mean you have to eat
only bland, boring foods. Instead, it means you'll eat more fruits,
vegetables and whole grains - foods that are high in nutrition and low
in fat and calories - and fewer animal products and sweets. Actually,
it's the same eating plan everyone should follow." So, a healthy diet
and persistent monitoring and treatment are the key.
The other
option I suggested would be the option of not taking your diabetes
seriously. A type 1 diabetic who only occasionally checks their glucose,
is not horribly committed to a healthy lifestyle, and may not take
insulin as prescribed, but more when they think they need it, is a
person who is looking for a long-term health problem. The long-term
affects of mismanaged type 1 diabetes are at best damaging and at worst
deadly. It should be no wonder that life insurance underwriters pay
special attention to the type of compliance you keep with your doctor
and dietician and the type of control you have achieved and maintained
with your glucose levels.Again, you will not impress a life insurance
underwriter, or for that matter, a life insurance agent who is
knowledgeable about diabetes by telling them your most recent glucose
reading was 98. That may be control, but it might also be a well-timed
glucose check. The real story comes from your regular lab work and the
test that reveals all secrets, the hbA1C. This test will take both your
98 and 230 into account; the reading you did not want to discuss or
possibly did not even take because you knew it was bad timing for a good
reading.
Your doctor and the life insurance underwriter are
preaching from the same book, and the sermon is CONTROL! CONTROL!
CONTROL!The Mayo Clinic sums up the repercussions of not following that
advice. "Long term complications include - Heart and blood vessel
(cardiovascular) disease - Nerve damage (neuropathy) - Kidney damage
(nephropathy) - Eye damage (diabetic retinopathy) - Osteoporosis and
several skin conditions." "Short term complications such as low blood
sugar (hypoglycemia), high blood sugar (hyperglycemia) and a high level
of ketones in your urine (diabetic ketoacidosis), require immediate
care. If left untreated, these conditions can cause seizures and loss of
consciousness (coma)." In summation it seems clear that whether type 1
or type 2 diabetes, the conditions are something that simply has to be
taken seriously or the results can be disastrous and deadly. This fact
is not lost on the people who decide what rate you are going to pay for
life insurance. Diabetes does not preclude getting life insurance at
competitive and good rates. Poorly controlled diabetes, for abundantly
obvious reasons, may very well make life insurance expensive and even
unattainable.
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