Triggers of Diabetes and How They Correlate
Doctors across America have stated time and time again that taking care of our bodies is the most important thing a person can do. Sometimes we take for granted what our bodies are capable of doing and how we treat them. We never think about the possibility of high glucose levels, pregnancy risks, BMI levels, or the chance of getting diabetes. We only think about these issues when we are dealt with them. A woman becomes pregnant and all of a sudden is reading every book on “what not to do as a first time mom”. What we don’t take into consideration a lot of the time, is how our eating habits or physical exercise habits may affect our chances of diabetes. There needs to be some sort of call to action when thinking about how the older we get, we are more susceptible to all kinds of diseases; but it is what we do in our younger years that could potentially slow the process of getting any type of disease.
It is interesting to note that many of our daily practices as people can affect our chances of getting diabetes, but what are they? When looking at data in a csv file called, “diabetes.csv”, there were factors such as — Pregnancies, Glucose, Skin Thickness, Insulin, BMI (Body Mass Index) and age. Now, consider how could any of these have any correlation with others; well, the average BMI level in this data set of a person who has diabetes is 35.14 compared to someone who does not have diabetes with an average level of 30.30. Now, take into consideration someone with diabetes who’s Skin Thickness on average is 22.16, compared to someone who doesn’t with a level of 19.66. Skin Thickness and BMI levels play a huge role in wether or not someone has diabetes. So, I decided to take a look at the data and see if there is any correlation between the two.
As stated above, from the numbers, one could come to the conclusion that a higher level of Skin Thickness and BMI could result in a diabetes diagnosis. But, what is the correlation really between the two? When calculating the correlation between the two, the chance of someone having a higher Skin Thickness could also correlate with someone who has a higher BMI and vice versa. Under normal circumstances, one could be born with higher Skin Thickness compared to someone else, but higher BMI levels are developed as one grows. So, the chance that someone who has a higher Skin Thickness could also have high BMI levels is about a 39% chance. Now, how can skin thickness and BMI play a role together? Body Mass Index is someone’s weight divided by their height, and skin thickness, well, adds to someone’s weight. The heavier you are, the more likely it is to do with the extra skin on your body. Also, the heavier you are, in an unhealthy way, the higher chance you may have at attracting diabetes.
Two other levels I looked at when referring to the correlation to Diabetes was a person’s glucose and insulin levels. Glucose and Insulin have a relationship with each other where Insulin signals to the liver when to store “blood sugar” for later use. You get this sugar for later use through the foods you eat. When eating foods, you consume glucose, which in return help keep your insulin and glucose levels at a normal rate. In this data set in particular, you can imagine that a person with a higher glucose level, would also have higher insulin levels. While this is true, this also puts the person at a huge risk of attracting diabetes. This is because diabetes is a problem where your body processes the glucose in your body at a higher rate. This is also referred to as “hyperglycemia”- this means that when you eat and your body starts to break down food, the sugar from the food is also being broken down and stored for later use (insulin). When this doesn’t happen properly, a person can then develop high glucose levels. In the dataset that I have been working with, the average level of someone with higher glucose levels and has diabetes is 141, where someone who doesn’t have diabetes levels would average around 110. The average level of someone with higher insulin levels and also has diabetes is 100, where someone who doesn’t have diabetes is 69. The correlation between Glucose and Insulin was later calculated as 33.14%. Which means that someone with either a higher glucose level, or higher insulin levels, would have a 33.14% chance of getting diabetes.
Although there are numbers that doctors follow to conclude if someone at a particular age is healthy it will always be our decision on how we treat our body for a good and long happy life. As much as numbers that doctors use can be outdated, it is still important for us to know what levels we have in order to know if we may need to change something in our daily routine in order to prevent a diabetes diagnosis. As annoying as it is to hear as a kid from your parents that you shouldn’t eat candy all the time, it is accurate in the way that in order for our body to properly process the glucose that is entering our body, we need to have a balanced diet. Glucose comes from a lot of items that don’t include candy. It is important to note that in order to prevent diseases such as diabetes from happening, genetics also plays a huge role. Knowing family history is a huge way to change your daily routine. Through this data, the numbers of the levels between Glucose, Insulin, Skin Thickness and BMI levels and their correlations within if someone has diabetes or not. From these numbers, the correlations prove that the higher someone’s levels in Glucose, the higher their insulin levels are, which result in a diabetes diagnosis. As well with a higher skin thickness level can result in a higher BMI level, which a person would also be given a diabetes diagnosis.
Being aware of these levels can ensure knowledge to a person on whether or not they are in the right range of health. There should be a call to action when these types of levels are too high and one should consult with a doctor if they feel they are not in the right level gap. If people were to take their health more seriously and become educated on the ways to do so, Doctors would be able to see a drop in levels of BMI and or Glucose levels.
