East Kentucky Diabetes Symposium held in Hazard addressed disease that impacts 1 in 5 people in region

Shaping Our Appalachian Region held its second East Kentucky Diabetes Symposium Friday, April 11, in Hazard to educate people about a disease that impacts 20% of the people who live in the region.

SOAR Executive Director Colby Hall told Amelia Lee with WYMT-TV that diabetes can lead to a lower quality of life.

“You’d be hard-pressed to find somebody, any person in the region that hasn’t been directly impacted by diabetes at some level,” Hall said.

Diabetes is a condition that happens when your blood sugar is too high, and it can affect people of all ages. It happens when a person’s pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin or any at all, or when your body isn’t responding to the effects of insulin properly, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Medical Director of Primary Care Centers of Eastern Kentucky Dr. John Jones, who led a diabetes patient panel discussion, told Lee that one in five people have diabetes in Eastern Kentucky. He added that Kentucky is among the top five states in the nation for the disease, which costs the state $5 billion annually.

“It affects the whole body. It affects your eyes, it affects your kidneys, it affects your heart, it affects your brain, it affects every fiber of you in some way,” Jones said.

Secretary for the Cabinet of Health and Family Services Eric Friedlander, who was the keynote speaker at the event, told Lee that the state has a goal of taking small steps toward making a difference when it comes to diabetes in Kentucky, with healthy food choices and exercise.

“One bite at a time, one step at a time and those are the easy ways to think about it because you can actually get started and make a difference,” Friedlander said.

The state’s “Our Healthy Kentucky Home” website offers information about diabetes and how to manage it. The statewide initiative focused on diabetes in January.

Friedlander said early intervention is key when it comes to diabetes.