REFERENCE TITLE: diabetic peripheral neuropathy awareness day

State of Arizona House of Representatives Forty-ninth Legislature Second Regular Session 2010

HCR 2065

Introduced by Representatives Campbell CL, Ableser, Ash, Barnes, Campbell CH, Chabin, Garcia M, Lujan, McGuire, Miranda B, Sinema, Williams, Young Wright: Bradley, Brown, Cajero Bedford, Driggs, Fleming, Konopnicki, Lesko, Lopes, McLain, Meyer, Pancrazi, Reagan, Schapira, Waters

 

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 

proclaiming april 6, 2010 as diabetic peripheral neuropathy action awareness day in arizona.

 

 

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

 

Whereas, Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy (DPN) is a serious condition that results from damage to nerves due to prolonged exposure to high amounts of glucose in the bloodstream as a result of diabetes; and

Whereas, DPN often results in pain or numbness in the feet, but because DPN damages nerve fibers, virtually any nerve in the body can be affected; and

Whereas, more than half of all diabetics suffer from DPN, which manifests itself in intense pain often described as aching, tingling, burning and numbness; and

Whereas, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, African Americans are 1.6 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites and Hispanic/Latino Americans are 1.8 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.  In Arizona, nearly 23 per cent of Native Americans over the age of twenty have been diagnosed with noninsulin‑dependent diabetes; and

Whereas, DPN is the leading cause of amputations, and as many as 40 to 60 per cent of lower extremity amputations are due to DPN.  Amputations in the African American, Latino and Native American diabetic populations are twice the rate of the diabetic white population.  In the United States, more than 50,000 diabetes-related amputations are performed each year, but comprehensive foot care programs can reduce amputation rates by 45 to 85 per cent; and

Whereas, DPN is preventable only to the extent that the underlying cause is preventable, requiring the individual patient's alert awareness of bodily deficiency, illness, infection or injury that can cause peripheral neuropathy, and the individual's willingness to seek early diagnosis and treatment; and

Whereas, the Arizona Diabetes Coalition works to inform people of DPN, to educate them about its symptoms and best preventive practices and to promote medical research toward improved methods of diagnosing and treating peripheral neuropathy.

Therefore 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring:

That the Members of the Legislature proclaim April 6, 2010 as Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy Action Awareness Day in Arizona, in conjunction with National Foot Health Awareness Month, to raise public awareness regarding the symptoms and treatment of this painful and dangerous neuropathy.