Diabetes is a condition
where the body fails to
utilize the ingested glucose
properly. This could be due
to lack of the hormone
insulin or because the insulin that is available is not
working effectively. Diabetes mellitus The term diabetes is the
shortened version of the full
name diabetes mellitus.
Diabetes mellitus is derived
from: the Greek word diabetes
meaning siphon - to pass
through the Latin word mellitus
meaning honeyed or
sweet This is because in diabetes
excess sugar is found in
blood as well as the urine. It
was known in the 17th
century as the “pissing evil”. Diabetes epidemiology Diabetes is the fastest
growing long term disease
that affects millions of
people worldwide. According
to the charity Diabetes UK,
more than two million people in the UK have the
condition and up to 750,000
more are unaware of having
the condition. In the United States 25.8
million people or 8.3% of the
population have diabetes.
Of these, 7.0 million have
undiagnosed diabetes. In
2010, about 1.9 million new cases of diabetes were
diagnosed in population
over 20 years. It is said that
if this trend continues, 1 in 3
Americans would be diabetic
by 2050. Types of diabetes There are two types of
diabetes – Type 1 and type 2.
Type 1 diabetes is called
insulin-dependent diabetes
mellitus and occurs at a
younger age or childhood. In these patients there is
complete lack of the
hormone insulin that
mandates external
administration of the
hormone regularly as treatment. Around 75% of people with
diabetes have type 2
diabetes mellitus. This was
earlier termed non-insulin
dependent diabetes mellitus
(NIDDM) or maturity-onset diabetes mellitus. The
number of people with type
2 diabetes is rapidly
increasing. In type 2
diabetes, not enough insulin
is produced or the insulin that is made by the body is
insufficient to meet the
needs of the body. Obesity
or being overweight
predisposes to type 2
diabetes. Gestational diabetes Gestational diabetes occurs
in pregnant women who
have never had diabetes
before but who have high
blood sugar levels during
pregnancy. Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of
all pregnant women. After
childbirth the mother may
go on to develop type 2
diabetes. How is blood sugar regulated
normally? When food is taken, it is
broken down to smaller
components. Sugars and
carbohydrates are thus
broken down into glucose for
the body to utilize them as energy source. The liver is
also able to manufacture
glucose. In normal persons the
hormone insulin, which is
made by the beta cells of the
pancreas, regulates how
much glucose is in the blood.
When there is excess glucose in the blood, insulin
stimulates cells to absorb
enough glucose from the
blood for the energy that
they need. Insulin also
stimulates the liver to absorb and store any glucose
that is excess in blood.
Insulin release is triggered
after a meal when there is
rise in blood glucose. When
blood glucose levels fall, during exercise for example,
insulin levels fall too. A second hormone
manufactured by the
pancreas is called glucagon.
It has the opposite function
of stimulating the liver to
release glucose when necessary. Symptoms of diabetes The main symptoms of
diabetes are three –
polydipsia, polyphagia and
polyuria. These mean
increased thirst, increased
hunger and increased frequency of urination. In
addition patients complain
of feeling very tired and
weight loss and loss of
muscle bulk. Type 1 diabetes
can develop quickly, over weeks or even days whereas
type 2 diabetes may develop
gradually. What happens in diabetes? Due to lack or insufficiency
of insulin there is high blood
glucose in diabetes. Excess
glucose in the blood can
damage the blood vessels.
This leads to several complications like heart
disease, kidney damage,
nerve damage, eye damage
and blindness, impotence
and stroke. Diabetes, when not
controlled, may raise the
propensity for infections.
Infections and gangrene of
the lower limbs is common in
uncontrolled diabetes. This may necessitate an
amputation if severe.
People with diabetes are
also 15 per cent more likely
to have an amputation than
people without the condition. Prevention, treatment and
care The risk of complications
with diabetes can be
reduced by adhering to
medical advice and keeping
diabetes under control.
Blood sugar should be regularly monitored so that
any problems can be
detected and treated early. Treatment involves both
healthy diet and exercise as
well as oral medications to
regulate blood sugar. In all
type 1 diabetics and in
severe uncontrolled type 2 diabetics one or more
injections of insulin a day
may be needed.

Health is Wealth.

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You're all welcome.
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