Diabetes is steadily climbing up the global “disease” charts and you should know what the risks are. Photos: AFP/Shutterstock
This year, the theme focuses on diabetes, a disease that has steadily climbed up the global “disease” charts.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.
Insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar, gives us the energy that we need to live. If it cannot get into the cells to be burned as energy, sugar builds up to harmful levels in the blood.
There are two main forms of diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes typically make none of their own insulin, and therefore require insulin injections to survive.
People with type 2 diabetes, the form that comprises some 90% of cases, usually produce their own insulin, but not enough or they are unable to use it properly.
Gestational diabetes is characterised by hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, with values above normal but below those diagnostic of diabetes, occurring during pregnancy.
People with type 2 diabetes are typically overweight and sedentary, two conditions that raise a person’s insulin needs.
Over time, high blood sugar can seriously compromise every major organ system in the body, causing heart attacks, strokes, nerve damage, kidney failure, blindness, impotence and infections that can lead to amputations.
In 2008, an estimated 347 million people in the world had diabetes, and the prevalence is growing, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
In 2012, the disease was the direct cause of some 1.5 million deaths, with more than 80% of those occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
WHO projects that diabetes will be the seventh leading cause of death by 2030.
But diabetes is not just a health issue.
Diabetes and its complications bring about substantial economic loss to people with diabetes and their families, and to health systems and national economies through direct medical costs and loss of work and wages.
Working to prevent, detect and treat diabetes is also critical to development.
Within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Governments have set an ambitious target to reduce premature mortality from NCDs – including diabetes – by one third; achieve universal health coverage; and provide access to affordable essential medicines – all by 2030.
Diabetes is one of four priority NCDs targeted by world leaders in the 2011 Political Declaration on the Prevention and Control of NCDs and the SDGs 2016-2030. The Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs 2013-2020 provides a road map and menu of policy options to attain nine voluntary global targets, including an additional target to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity by 2025.
Many sectors of society have a role to play, including governments, employers, educators, manufacturers, civil society, private sector, the media and individuals themselves.
WHO is focusing on diabetes this World Health Day because:
• The diabetes epidemic is rapidly increasing in many countries, with the documented increase most dramatic in low- and middle-income countries.
• A large proportion of diabetes cases are preventable. Simple lifestyle measures have been shown to be effective in preventing or delaying the onset of type 2 diabetes.
Maintaining normal body weight, engaging in regular physical activity, and eating a healthy diet can reduce the risk of diabetes.
• Diabetes is treatable. Diabetes can be controlled and managed to prevent complications. Increasing access to diagnosis, self-management education and affordable treatment are vital components of the response.
The burden of diabetes is increasing globally, particularly in developing countries. The causes are complex, but the increase is in large part due to rapid increases in overweight, including obesity and physical inactivity.
Although there is good evidence that a large proportion of cases of diabetes and its complications can be prevented by a healthy diet, regular physical activity, maintaining a normal body weight and avoiding tobacco, this evidence is not widely implemented.
Coordinated international and national policies are needed to reduce exposure to the known risk factors for diabetes and to improve access to and quality of care.
Simple lifestyle measures have been shown to be effective in preventing or delaying the onset of the disease.
10 facts about diabetes
1. About 347 million people worldwide have diabetes. There is an emerging global epidemic of diabetes that can be traced back to rapid increases in overweight, including obesity and physical inactivity.
2. Diabetes is predicted to become the seventh leading cause of death in the world by the year 2030. Total deaths from diabetes are projected to rise by more than 50% in the next 10 years.
3. There are two major forms of diabetes – Type 1 diabetes is characterised by a lack of insulin production and type 2 diabetes results from the body’s ineffective use of insulin.
4. A third type of diabetes is gestational diabetes – This type is characterised by hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, with values above normal but below those diagnostic of diabetes, occurring during pregnancy. Women with gestational diabetes are at an increased risk of complications during pregnancy and at delivery. They are also at increased risk of type 2 diabetes in the future.
5. Type 2 diabetes is much more common than type 1 diabetes – Type 2 accounts for around 90% of all diabetes worldwide. Reports of type 2 diabetes in children – previously rare – have increased worldwide. In some countries, it accounts for almost half of newly diagnosed cases in children and adolescents.
6. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for between 50% and 80% of deaths in people with diabetes. Diabetes has become one of the major causes of premature illness and death in most countries, mainly through the increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
7. In 2012, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths.
8. Approximately 80% of diabetes deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries
In developed countries most people with diabetes are above the age of retirement, whereas in developing countries, those most frequently affected are aged between 35 and 64.
9. Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, amputation and kidney failure. Lack of awareness about diabetes, combined with insufficient access to health services and essential medicines, can lead to complications such as blindness, amputation and kidney failure.
10. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented. Thirty minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity on most days and a healthy diet can drastically reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. – WHO
http://www.star2.com/health/wellness/2016/04/07/are-you-really-taking-diabetes-seriously-disease/