Self-assessment Knowledge on Diabetes and its Risk Factors among College Students

Self-assessment Knowledge on Diabetes and its Risk Factors among College Students

This study aims at exploring self-assessment knowledge on diabetes and its risk factors among college students. This research study will mainly concentrate on potential risk factors for Diabetes in college students and how important is it for students to be aware of these risk factors; thus, there was a necessity to carry out comprehensive literature research to find articles related to Diabetes and the potential risk factors associated with Diabetes among college students.  A lot of studies have been conducted to explore and evaluate the potential risk factors among college students and the importance of college students being aware of such risk factors. In the literature review, the researcher concentrated on the potential risk factors for Diabetes among college students and the importance of college students being aware of these risk factors. 

According to the Center for Disease Control’s definition (2015), diabetes is a disease that occurs as a result of inadequate insulin generation of the hormone insulin by the pancreas, which consequently raises the blood glucose level. Although Type II diabetes is mostly seen in elderly people, it is as well prevalent in the adolescent age group and early adulthood individuals (Wilmot, & Idris, 2014). Even though Type II diabetes is more common than Type I diabetes, interventional measures such as engaging in physical exercises and having proper eating habits can help manage this disease (Harris, Petrella, & Leadbetter, 2003). College students are faced with a lot of factors that make them susceptible to developing Type II diabetes. Such factors are able to influence the development of diabetes and they include daily lifestyle choices and environmental risk factors that can be avoided. Others such as genetics are not avoidable. 

Although Type II diabetes has a strong connection to the history of the family, the basis of genetic history alone is not enough. Normally, identical genes are depicted on identical twins and the prevalence in monozygotic twins is approximately 70% while dizygotic twins is 20-30% (Lyssenko, & Laakso, 2013). Thus, diabetes is seen in families as a result of genetic history. However, the risk of developing Type II diabetes among college students relies on a combination of both genetic susceptibility and environmental factors. Just like children, most college students emulate what is around them for example, their guardians, and they usually end up adopting their eating and physical exercise habits which shape their daily lifestyles. This shows that emulating suboptimal habits can lead to a heightened likelihood of diabetes being passed from one person to another. Interestingly, most families share similar habits, and as result obesity runs in families from one generation to another. Notably, a study by Sorensen and Stunkard (1993) also discovered that genetic history can influence obesity. 

There is a tendence of  many college students not adhering to dietary and physical guidelines as concluded by the authors who surveyed 738 college students aged 18 to 27 to assess overweight, obesity, dietary habits, and physical activity (Huang et al., 2003). Based on their results from the survey, the authors advised that it was important to enhance prevention interventions and increased understanding of obesity among college students. Having reached the pandemic proportions in the United States with an estimated 25.6 million people in 2010 aged 20 years and above, there is a need for awareness to be carried among college students. College students who usually read food labels or have knowledge regarding the risk factors of diabetes have a lower risk of developing diabetes. This is concluded from a study carried to explore the knowledge of diabetes and future disease risk perception of college students. The study was done on 697 college students recruited at a large state university who was to complete an online survey (Khan et al., 2020). From the study’s findings, it was concluded that it is important to educate college students on risk factors of diabetes which should include both primary and secondary information about diabetes. 

Predictions from research studies show that a large number of college students are at a high risk of developing Type II diabetes in their lifetime as a result of not engaging in physical activity, high BMI, lack of knowledge regarding the disease, and its high prevalence in their families. Due to a lack of knowledge about Type II diabetes being managed, delayed, or prevented, most college students succumb to diabetes because of careless dietary habits, not engaging in physical activities and other activities that might either reduce the risk of being susceptible to diabetes. Thus, researchers of the study “Diabetes Mellitus-Related Knowledge among University Students in Ajman, United Arab Emirates” suggested it was important for healthy professionals to engage in educational settings to help provide health-related knowledge and inculcate healthy lifestyle habits among college students. Higher education institutions should as well take part in promotion of  physical activities and healthy dietary habits among students (Khan et al., 2012). 

There is a need to raise awareness regarding risk factors associated with diabetes since the rate at which Type II diabetes patients among college students is increasing at an alarming rate as this will help avoid such factors. As such colleges and universities are encouraged to teach students concerning health issues and thus, institutions need to move beyond simple knowledge acquisition and concentrate on connecting the knowledge acquired on a personal note and then provide them with the adequate skills required to help them translate knowledge into healthy lifestyle behaviors (Yahia et al., 2014). Also, previous research studies indicate that lifestyle interventions such as a healthy dietary pattern, daily engagement in physical activity, and maintaining healthy body weight, can significantly reduce the spread of diabetes among college students. Thus, more research should be done to examine whether students’ knowledge of diabetes potential risk factors will help reduce the risk of diabetes.   

References

Harris, S. B., Petrella, R. J., Leadbetter, W. (2003). Lifestyle interventions for type 2 diabetes. Relevance for clinical practice. Canadian Family Physician,49, 1618-1625. 

Huang, T. T. K., Harris, K. J., Lee, R. E., Nazir, N., Born, W., & Kaur, H. (2003). Assessing overweight, obesity, diet, and physical activity in college students. Journal of American college health, 52(2), 83-86. 

Khan, R. K., Misra, R., Shawley-Brzoska, S., & Wen, S. (2020). Predictors of diabetes risk perception among college students. Journal of American College Health, 1-7. 

Khan, N., Gomathi, K. G., Shehnaz, S. I., & Muttappallymyalil, J. (2012). Diabetes mellitus-related knowledge among university students in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 12(3), 306 

Lyssenko, V., & Laakso, M. (2013). Genetic Screening for the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: Worthless or valuable? Diabetes Care, 36(Supplement 2), S120-S126. doi:10.2337/dcs13-2009 

Mongiello, L. L., Freudenberg, N., Jones, H., & Spark, A. (2016). Many college students underestimate diabetes risk. Journal of allied health, 45(2), 81-86. 

Sørensen, T. I., & Stunkard, A. J. (1993). Does obesity run in families because of genes?Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 370, 67-72. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.1993.tb05363.x  

Yahia, N., Brown, C., Rapley, M., & Chung, M. (2014). Assessment of college students’ awareness and knowledge about conditions relevant to metabolic syndrome. Diabetology & metabolic syndrome, 6(1), 1-15. 

Wilmot, E., & Idris, I. (2014). Early onset type 2 diabetes: risk factors, clinical impact and management. Therapeutic advances in chronic disease, 5(6), 234-244.