Frequently Asked Questions

Anyone can get TB. It strikes people of all races, ages and income levels.

The following factors are associated with a higher risk of becoming infected:

• Close contact with people with active TB disease
•  HIV infection
• Poverty
• Malnutrition
• Homelessness.

The risk of an individual developing active disease is mainly related to their immune system capacity.
Some conditions, such as AIDS, diabetes or long-term therapy with corticosteroids, can severely impair the immune system, thus increasing the chance of developing TB disease. In addition, some behaviours (such as injecting drug use) can also impair the immune system.

Diabetes is a disease in which blood glucose (sugar) levels are above normal. Plant foods which are mostly sugars and starches (carbohydrates) are turned into glucose, or sugar, for our bodies to use for energy. The pancreas, an organ that lies near the stomach, makes a hormone called insulin to help glucose get into the cells of our bodies. When you have diabetes, your body either does not make enough insulin or cannot use its own insulin as well as it should. This causes sugar to build up in your blood. Diabetes can cause serious health complications including heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, and lower-extremity amputations.

Individuals who think they might have diabetes should visit a physician for diagnosis. They might have SOME or NONE of the following symptoms:

 Frequent urination
 Excessive thirst
 Unexplained weight loss
 Extreme hunger
 Sudden vision changes
 Tingling or numbness in hands or feet
 Feeling very tired much of the time
 Very dry skin
 Sores that are slow to heal
 More infections than usual

1. Type 1 diabetes
2. Type 2 diabetes

Sickle cell disease is an inherited disorder that affects red blood cells. People with sickle cell disease have red blood cells that become hard and pointed instead of soft and round. Sickle cells cause anemia, pain and many other problems.

If you have sickle cell trait, you have inherited the gene for sickle cell disease. Sickle cell trait does not turn into sickle cell disease. If someone has sickle cell trait and his partner has sickle cell trait they may produce a child with sickle cell disease. There are about 2.5 million people in America with sickle cell trait.

People are tested for sickle cell trait so they understand if they might be at risk of having a baby with sickle cell disease.

The blockage of blood flow caused by sickled cells leads to many complications including chronic pain,infection, lung tissue damage, blindness, kidney disease and stroke.

While the cause of high blood pressure in most people remains unclear, inactivity, poor diet, obesity, older age, and genetics — can all contribute to the development of hypertension.

The blood pressure reading is measured in millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and is written as systolic pressure, the force of the blood against the artery walls as your heart beats, over diastolic pressure, the blood pressure between heartbeats. For example, a blood pressure reading is written as 120/80 mmHg, or "120 over 80". The systolic pressure is 120 and the diastolic pressure is 80

The Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure has classified blood pressure measurements into several categories:
 Normal blood pressure is systolic pressure less than 120 and diastolic pressure less than 80.
 Elevated is systolic pressure of 120-129 and diastolic pressure less than 80.
 Stage 1 hypertension is systolic pressure of 130-139 or diastolic pressure of 80-89.
 Stage 2 hypertension is systolic pressure of 140 or greater or diastolic pressure of 90 or greater.