INSULIN INJECTION
Diabetes is a metabolic disease which is characterized by high blood sugar levels. It can be caused either due to the lack of insulin (type 1 diabetes) or because the body’s cells fail to respond to the insulin produced (type 2 diabetes).
Some of the common symptoms of diabetes are hunger, frequent urination and increased thirst. While type 1 diabetes is usually genetic, type 2 diabetes is caused more by lifestyle factors. It is one of the common ‘lifestyle diseases’ which is plaguing people in the developed countries and often has a causal link to heart diseases, hypertension and obesity.
According to a new report by International Diabetes Federation, as many as one in 10 people will have diabetes by 2035.
By the end of this year, IDF estimates that 382 million people will be affected by the disease. The number is alarming considering the tally was around 285 million just four years ago.
The report also said that one person dies every six seconds due to diabetes or 5.1 million deaths every year. Interestingly, 80% of those affected with the disease were in low and middle income countries, and most of them were between 40 and 59 years old.
The report was released on November 14 to highlight World Diabetes Day.
“Diabetes is a disease of development. The misconception that diabetes is ‘a disease of the wealthy’ is still held, to the detriment of desperately needed funding to combat the pandemic. In coming years we have much to do in making the case for those who have diabetes now and will have in the future,”
Patients have to control their diets and may have to take additional insulin and other medications to balance out their blood sugar levels. If left untreated, diabetes can cause complications including glaucoma, cataracts, other eye problems, neuropathy (nerve damage) that leads to numbness in the feet, skin infections, high blood pressure, depression, hearing loss and oral health problems.
IDF points out that the number of people with diabetes, especially the Type 2 form, has increased in every country. The total numbers of diabetes cases have increased 4.4 percent over the last two years, now affecting more than 5 percent of the global population.
According to the report, despite better treatments and improving education strategies, the battle to protect people from diabetes and its complications “is being lost.”
The report’s authors call for diabetes to be placed high on the agendas of health ministers throughout the world.
Source: CBS News
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