Tell us what you think about this series, about health care in the state, or how to improve the quality of life in Appalachia. Send us your comments now to weku@eku.edu, or to Simple Changes, WEKU, 102 Perkins Building, 521 Lancaster Avenue, Richmond, KY 40475.

Simple Changes is a year-long exploration of chronic illness in Appalachian Kentucky produced by public radio station WEKU and Pattie A. Clay Regional Medical Center in Richmond, Kentucky. The project is funded by Sound Partners for Community Health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, chronic illness is among the most common and costly health problems. They are also among the most preventable.

So what is a chronic disease? Medical experts define it as a condition that lasts a year or longer, limits what a person can do, and won't go away on its own.

If you live in the Appalachian counties of southeastern Kentucky, your chance of having a chronic health problem is generally far greater than if you live in other parts of the United States.

While many chronic diseases are present in the region, here is some information to help you understand some of the most prominent conditions.

Diabetes					Quick Quiz Are you at risk for developing diabetes? Take our quick quiz now. Patient Profile Donnie Hall Hall, 54, of Hazard has had diabetes for more than 30 years. He is one of 60,000 eastern Kentuckians with the disease. Hall uses an insulin pump attached to his belt to regulate his blood sugar. Hall's illness has left him in a diabetic coma and contributed to heart disease. Listen as he talks about how he has coped emotionally, financially and physically with the chronic disease, and read more of his story.
	Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas that causes people to have have a shortage of insulin or a decreased ability to use insulin. Insulin is a hormone found in your body that changes food (specifically sugars and starches) into the energy that you use each day. Diabetes may be the rare form called Type 1 (or juvenile-onset) in which your body produces no insulin, or the more common Type 2 in which the body does not produce enough insulin or use it properly.
Risk Factors
	Overweight, over the age of 45, have an immediate family member with diabetes, are African-American or Hispanic
Signs of Diabetes
	Excessive urination, intense thirst or hunger, severe fatigue
Diabetes in Kentucky
	Almost 10% of adult Kentuckians have diabetes and one in two adults here is at increased risk for developing the disease. Medical and other costs associated with diabetes in the state total some $1.9 billion. Eastern Kentucky has the highest incidence of diabetes in the Commonwealth.
Learn More About Diabetes
•	Listen as a panel of medical experts discusses diabetes
•	WEKU radio stories about diabetes
•	Printable Brochure about diabetes (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
•	Printable Brochure of Kentucky Diabetes Resources (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
•	Diabetes in Kentucky Fact Sheet
•	Kentucky Diabetes Network
•	American Diabetes Association