Epidemiological Issues (Essay Sample)

Epidemiology
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Part 1: Epidemiological issues
Epidemiological issues are rampant in the United States of America. Some of these issues are hereditary while others occur due to people’s lifestyles (Nagi, 2013). Major epidemiological issues in the American population are alcoholic problems, diabetes, overweight, obesity, high blood pressure, communicable diseases, and malnutrition problems.
Among the most frequent epidemiological issues in Atlanta are: hypertension, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Health professionals in this community monitor and evaluate health trends regularly, making them to successfully identify groups of patients who are affected by certain diseases. A thorough investigation of these epidemiological issues can give useful information which can help develop control steps. This would then prevent continued spread of the disease.
There is a notable difference between these epidemiological issues and individual issues. In epidemiology, the focus is on those diseases which occur in large groups of people. The outcome of the disease is measured in relation to the population at risk (Rothman, 2012). This could be a sick or healthy group of people who are usually counted as cases, if they have developed the condition being investigated. On the other hand, individual issues are oriented to individuals rather than groups. The clinical observations in this case determine decisions concerning the individuals. African Americans are particularly vulnerable to high blood pressure and as such, hypertension is widely considered an epidemiological issue in the African American population. In Caucasian population, however, people have learnt to reduce their risk of developing high blood pressure and therefore this condition affects just a small percentage of the population. This has made it an individual issue, and not an epidemiological issue in this specific population.
References
Nagi, S. Z. (2013). Child maltreatment in the United States: A challenge to social institutions. Columbia University Press.
Rothman, K. J. (2012). Epidemiology: an introduction. Oxford University Press.


Part 2: Chronic diseases
Chronic diseases affect many populations worldwide. In the United States, chronic diseases have been named as the leading cause of death and disability, accounting for about 70 percent of all deaths. Barker (2012) notes that these conditions are long-lasting/persistent and usually lasts for more than three months. In this part, we are going to discuss two of the most rampant chronic illnesses in Atlanta, Georgia.
Diabetes – The main impact of diabetes in the body is kidney failure. Symptoms of patients diagnosed with diabetes are loss of memory, muscle pain, sore throat, fatigue, and enlargement of lymph nodes in the neck. Diabetes is caused by poor eating habits, that is, egestion of meals that are sugary, starch oriented and fatty. Lack of exercises has also been identified as a major cause of this disease among the adults. Diabetes can also be hereditary. Insulin is frequently prescribed to help manage diabetes.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) – This mainly affects the elderly (Murphy & Sethi, 2002). This disease is usually characterized by intermittent worsening of symptoms, mainly referred to as acute exacerbations. Cigarette smoking has been identified as the major cause of COPD. Significant morbidity and mortality usually arise from this health condition. The obstruction of the airflow occurs severely, affecting the overall health status of the chronically ill. Primarily associated with the presence of acute airflow limitations (which results from remodeling and inflammation of small airways), COPD is often characterized by emphysema or lung parenchymal destruction. Additionally, co-morbid conditions like muscle wasting, osteoporosis, peptic ulcers, diabetes and cardiovascular disease are linked through a systemic inflammatory cascade.
References
Barker, D. J. (2012). Developmental origins of chronic disease. Public health, 126(3), 185- 189.
Murphy, T. F., & Sethi, S. (2002). Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Drugs & aging, 19(10), 761-775.
Part 3: Health promotion
Many activities can be undertaken to help improve a population’s health. This is by promotion of information that increases awareness of risk behaviors that are associ...