Diabetes: a global crisis in the Making

👨⚕️ On a visit to the doctor, after walking in and paying the amount, we aren’t really worried about whether we understand the ailment or not. We know, peacefully, that our job from this moment onwards is to just go inside, listen to the learned person explain the issue and take whatever pills they give to us.

WARNING! Deadly Diabetes doesn’t work like that.

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease characterized by an increase in blood glucose level (hyperglycemia). In simple terms, diabetes is a raised blood sugar level which along with abnormalities in insulin secretion causes numerous types of conditions that include serious complications, including heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, blindness, and nerve damage. Some are serious cases that build up over time (c𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜) and there are others that can happen at any time (a𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞).

𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑎 𝑚𝑎𝑗𝑜𝑟 𝑏𝑢𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑛 𝑜𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠. 𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦, 𝑖𝑛 2015, it 𝑐𝑎𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑑 5 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑑 20–79 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡 $ 673 𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑟 12% 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒.

To make any major decision in life, vital information is the key, right? So let us dig in a bit so that you or your family never have to suffer from this life-long trauma☝

What are the main types?

Type 1 diabetes: It is an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the cells that produce insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels.

Type 2 diabetes: It is a metabolic disorder that occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or is unable to use it effectively.

There are several reasons for this increase in diabetes cases. One is the growing prevalence of obesity, which is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Another is the aging of the global population, as the risk of developing diabetes increases with age. In addition, increasing urbanization and a shift towards sedentary lifestyles have also contributed to the rise in diabetes cases.

How to manage these conditions?

To manage type 1 diabetes there is a need for artificial insulin as it will help to control the amount of glucose in your blood. Insulin can be taken in different ways such as with the help of a syringe, insulin pen, and insulin pump.

Several ways to reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes are to maintain a healthy weight, eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and monitor your blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

⦾ 𝑅𝑒𝑔𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑐𝑘-𝑢𝑝𝑠 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑟𝑠. Blood tests can help in early diagnosis of prediabetes. As per NIDDK, the recommended tests are :

1. HbA1C
2. 12-hour fasting plasma glucose
3. Glucose tolerance test after 2 hours of oral consumption of 75g glucose

To combat the diabetes pandemic, it is important to focus on prevention efforts, such as promoting #healthydiets and regular physical activity and increasing access to #quality #healthcare for people with #diabetes.