What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a condition that happens when your blood sugar (glucose) is too high. It develops when your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin or any at all, or when your body isn’t responding to the effects of insulin properly. Diabetes affects people of all ages. Most forms of diabetes are chronic (lifelong), and all forms are manageable with medications and/or lifestyle changes.
There are several types of diabetes. The most common forms include:
- Type 1 Diabetes: This type is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in your pancreas for unknown reasons. Up to 10% of people who have diabetes have Type 1. It’s usually diagnosed in children and young adults, but it can develop at any age.
- Type 2 Diabetes: With this type, your body doesn’t make enough insulin and/or your body’s cells don’t respond normally to the insulin (insulin resistance). This is the most common type of diabetes. It mainly affects adults, but children can have it as well.
- Gestational Diabetes: This type develops in some people during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes usually goes away after pregnancy. However, if you have gestational diabetes, you’re at a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes later in life.
Causes and Risk Factors
Type 1 Diabetes: Symptoms of T1D can develop quickly — over a few weeks or months. You may develop additional symptoms that are signs of a severe complication called diabetes-related ketoacidosis (DKA). DKA is life-threatening and requires immediate medical treatment. DKA symptoms include vomiting, stomach pains, fruity-smelling breath and laboured breathing.
Explain that it is autoimmune condition where the body attacks insulin-producing cells?
Autoimmune diabetes mellitus or T1DM is an organ-specific autoimmune disease that affects the insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells, after an inflammatory process leads to a chronic deficiency of insulin in genetically susceptible individuals. The clinical manifestation (i.e., hyperglycaemia) represents the final stage of insulitis (i.e., inflammation in pancreatic islets). At the time of diagnosis, only 10 to 20% of the insulin-producing beta cells continue to function.
Type 2 Diabetes: You may not have any symptoms at all, or you may not notice them since they develop slowly. Routine bloodwork may show a high blood sugar level before you recognize symptoms. Another possible sign of prediabetes is darkened skin on certain parts of your body
Discuss factors such as genetics, obesity, poor diet, and lack of physical activity?
Overweight and obesity can develop over time when you consume more calories than you use. This is also described as an energy imbalance: when your energy in (calories) does not equal your energy out (calories your body uses for things such as breathing, digesting food, and being physically active
Your body uses certain nutrients, such as carbohydrates or sugars, proteins, and fats, from the foods you eat to make and store energy.
- Food is turned into energy for immediate use to power routine daily body functions and physical activity.
- Food is stored as energy for future use by your body. Sugars are stored as glycogenin the liver and muscles. Fats are stored mainly as triglyceridein fatty tissue.
An energy imbalance causes your body to store more fat than can be used now or in the future. But your risk of developing overweight or obesity is determined by more than how much you eat. It also includes the types and amount of food and drinks you consume each day, your level of physical activity (such as whether you sit at an office desk or are on your feet all day), and how much good-quality sleep you get each night.
Lack of physical activity, combined with high amounts of TV, computer, video game, or other screen time has been associated with a high body mass index (BMI). Most adults need at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity a week. It is also recommended that adults do muscle-strengthening activities for major muscle groups on 2 or more days each week, as these activities give additional health benefits. Children should get 60 minutes of aerobic activity each day. See the recommendations for physical activity for different age groups.
Gestational Diabetes: You typically won’t notice symptoms of gestational diabetes. Your healthcare provider will test you for gestational diabetes between 24 and 28 weeks of pregnancy.
Describe how it occurs during pregnancy and its potential long-term effects on both mother and child?
All pregnant women should be screened for gestational diabetes between 24 to 28 weeks of pregnancy. Women who are at high risk for undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes should be screened earlier than 20 weeks of pregnancy. In gestational Diabetes Your body cannot produce enough insulin to handle the effects of a growing baby and changing hormone levels. Insulin helps your body to control the level of glucose (sugar) in your blood. If your body cannot produce enough insulin, your blood sugar levels will rise.This increases the risk that your baby will weigh more than 4kg (9lbs) and will have a difficult delivery. Gestational diabetes can also increase the risk of your baby becoming overweight and developing Type 2 diabetes in the future. It is important to breastfeed immediately after delivery for at least four months, if you can, to help reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes for your baby.
Common Risk Factors:
In the U.S., about 97.6 million adults age 18-64 and 27.2 million adults age 65 or older have prediabetes, and many people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are unaware of their condition.
Risk factors that increase your risk for developing prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes that can’t be changed are:
- Family history: The risk of diabetes is increased if your parents or siblings have the disease. Share your family health history with your health care professional to find out what it may mean for you.
- Race or ethnic background: If you are a Black American, Asian American, Latino/Hispanic American, Native American or of Pacific-Islander, you have a greater chance of developing diabetes.
- Age: The older you are, the higher your risk for prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes generally occurs in middle-aged adults, most frequently after age 45. But health care professionals are diagnosing more and more children and adolescents with Type 2 diabetes.
- Weight: Being overweight or obese increases your risk of developing diabetes. Losing 5% to 10% of your body weight—in addition to getting regular physical activity—can significantly reduce your risk of developing diabetes.
- Physical activity: Physical inactivity is a key modifiable risk factor for prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. Regular physical activity helps lower insulin resistance. This means your body can use its own insulin more effectively. Even a brisk 30-minute walk at least five days a week can help reduce the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
- Blood pressure: In addition to causing damage to the cardiovascular system, untreated high blood pressure has been linked to complications from diabetes. People with diabetes and HBP should maintain a blood pressure of less than 130/80 mm Hg.
- Smoking: If you smoke, there are a number of tools, medications and online resources that you can use to help you quit.
Symptoms of Diabetes
Common Symptoms
If you have any of the following diabetes symptoms, see your doctor about getting your blood sugar tested:
- Urinate (pee) a lot, often at night
- Are very thirsty
- Lose weight without trying
- Are very hungry
- Have blurry vision
- Have numb or tingling hands or feet
- Feel very tired
- Have very dry skin
- Have sores that heal slowly
- Have more infections than usual
Symptoms of type 1 diabetes
People who have type 1 diabetesmay also have nausea, vomiting, or stomach pains. Type 1 diabetes can be diagnosed at any age. Symptoms can develop in just a few weeks or months and can be severe.
Symptoms of type 2 diabetes
Types 2 diabetes symptoms often take several years to develop. Some people don’t notice any symptoms at all. Type 2 diabetes usually starts when you’re an adult, though more and morechildren’s and teens are developing it. Because symptoms are hard to spot, it’s important to know the risk factors for type 2 diabetes.
Diagnosis
Test and procedure:
A blood sugar test is a procedure that measures the amount of sugar, or glucose, in your blood. A doctor may order this test to help diagnose diabetes.
Blood samples are generally used to screen for diabetes. A doctor will typically order a fasting blood sugar (FBS) test, which measures your blood sugar levels.
They may also order a glycosylated haemoglobin test called a haemoglobin A1C test. The test results reflect your blood sugar levels over the previous 90 daysTrusted Source. The results will show if you have prediabetes or diabetes. In people already diagnosed with diabetes, this test can monitor how well their diabetes is managed.
Type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed using the glycated haemoglobin (A1C) test. This blood test indicates your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months. Results are interpreted as follows:
- Below 5.7% is normal.
- 5.7% to 6.4% is diagnosed as prediabetes.
- 6.5% or higher on two separate tests indicates diabetes.
Fasting blood sugar test. A blood sample is taken after you haven’t eaten overnight. Results are interpreted as follows:
- Less than 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) is considered healthy.
- 100 to 125 mg/dL (5.6 to 6.9 mmol/L) is diagnosed as prediabetes.
- 126 mg/dL (7 mmol/L) or higher on two separate tests is diagnosed as diabetes.
Management and treatment
Lifestyle changes :
Eat healthy. This is crucial when you have diabetes, because what you eat affects your blood sugar. No foods are strictly off-limits. Focus on eating only as much as your body needs. Get plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
Exercise. If you’re not active now, it’s time to start. You don’t have to join a gym and do cross-training. Just walk, ride a bike, or play active video games. Your goal should be 30 minutes of activity that makes you sweat and breathe a little harder most days of the week.
Get checkups. See your doctor at least twice a year. Diabetes raises your odds of heart disease. So learn your numbers: cholesterol, blood pressure, and A1c (average blood sugar over 3 months).
Manage stress. When you’re stressed, your blood sugar levels go up. And when you’re anxious, you may not manage your diabetes well. You may forget to exercise, eat right, or take your medicines
Medications:
- Metformin
- Thiazolidinediones (glitazones)
- Insulin releasing pills (secretagogues)
- Starch blockers
- Incretin based therapies
- Amylin analogs
Monitoring:
If you’re diagnosed with diabetes, you can monitor your blood sugar level several ways to see how well your treatment plan is working:
HbA1C
Your health care team will do an HbA1C test at least twice a year.
Home monitoring
Easy-to-use home monitors allow people to test their blood sugar on their own. A variety of these devices are available.
If you’re managing diabetes with the help of a home monitor, talk to your health care professional to learn what to do when your results are too high or low.
Education and support:
A model for self-management education (SME) and self-management support (SMS).
Complications
Short term complication:
Hypoglycaemia happens when the level of sugar (glucose) in your blood drops below the range that’s healthy for you. It’s also called low blood sugar or low blood glucose
Severely low blood glucose, defined as when your blood glucose level drops so low you can’t treat it yourself, is less common. Among U.S. adults with diabetes who take insulin or some diabetes medicines that help the pancreas release insulin into the blood, 2 in 100 may develop severely low blood glucose each year.
If your blood glucose level is low, you may feel
- shaky or jittery
- hungry
- tired
- dizzy, lightheaded, confused, or irritable
- your heart is beating too fast or not steadily
- you have a headache
- you can’t see or speak clearly
Hypoglycaemia is a condition in which your blood sugar (glucose) level is lower than the standard range. Glucose is your body’s main energy source.
Hypoglycemia needs immediate treatment. For many people, a fasting blood sugar of 70 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), or 3.9 millimoles per liter (mmol/L), or below should serve as an alert for hypoglycemia. But your numbers might be different. Ask your health care provider.
If blood sugar levels become too low, hypoglycemia signs and symptoms can include:
- Looking pale
- Shakiness
- Sweating
- Headache
- Hunger or nausea
- An irregular or fast heartbeat
- Fatigue
- Irritability or anxiety
- Difficulty concentrating
- Dizziness or light headedness
- Tingling or numbness of the lips, tongue or cheek
Major Complications
- Cardiovascular disease.
- Nerve damage (neuropathy)
- Kidney damage (diabetic nephropathy) or kidney failure.
- Damage to the blood vessels of the retina (diabetic retinopathy) that could lead to blindness.
Prevention
Prevention Measure for Type 2 Diabetes :
Eating well involves including nutritious foods in the diet while avoiding foods that can harm health.
- fruits
- no starchy vegetables, such as spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, and broccoli
- lean proteins, which include turkey, chicken, fish, tofu, plain Greek yogurt, pulses, and eggs
- whole grains, such as steel-cut oatmeal, quinoa, and brown rice
- water and unsweetened beverages
The CDC advises avoiding:
- sugary drinks, such as soda, sports drinks, and fruit juice
- processed foods, including chips, granola bars, sweets, fast foods, preserved meat, and packaged snacks
- alcohol
- trans fats, which are in margarine, packaged baked goods, snack foods, and many fried foods
Maintain body mass and weight
If a person with prediabetes has excess body weight, they can help reverse their prediabetes by losing 5%Trusted Source of their weight. Choosing healthy foods most of the time can go a long way in weight management because most of these options are naturally low in calories.
Screening and Early Detection:
Fasting blood glucose test is preferred as it is faster to perform and more acceptable to patients and less expensive. A fasting blood glucose of more than 126 mg/dL or 7 mmol/L indicates further testing.
By the time the diagnosis of diabetes is made, diabetes-related tissue damage occurs in nearly half of the patients. Even after diagnosis, the glycaemic control is suboptimal in more than 50%, leading to the vascular complications. Evidences suggest that early detection of diabetes by appropriate screening methods, especially in subjects with high risk for diabetes will help to prevent or delay the vascular complications and thus reduce the clinical, social and economic burden of the disease.
Living with Diabetes
Daily life:
Most individuals reported that diabetes had a negative impact on their life, in terms of future planning, taking on life’s challenges, school or work success, self-confidence, and relationships. People with type 1 diabetes (T1D) ranked blood glucose management and time commitment/burden of management as having the greatest impact. People with type 2 diabetes (T2D) ranked diet and weight management as having the greatest impact.
These survey findings show that diabetes has a significant impact on day-to-day life in many areas beyond physical health.
Support System:
CDSs Support
Digital transformation involves fundamentally rethinking healthcare delivery processes, treatments, and services from a technology-enabled perspective. CDSs promote diabetes care by facilitating evidence-informed insulin use, improving blood glucose control, and quality indicators in caring for patients with diabetes. Given the complex undertaking for clinicians, CDSs may simplify and improve the care process and patient outcomes.
Getting support for yourself
Asking for help
It can be easy to get into the habit of supporting someone with diabetes alone. But it’s good to ask other friends and family for help sometimes so you can have time for yourself. Perhaps think if there are any specific tasks you could ask them to help out with.
It can be stressful supporting someone with diabetes, particularly if they have other health conditions too. You often don’t get a holiday from it either. If someone isn’t looking after themselves and won’t accept any help from you or their healthcare team, there may not be much you can do to help them. Instead, focus on getting support for yourself.
Conclusion:
Main motive on this elaborate article:
- Diabetes is a Leading Cause of Blindness Worldwide.
- Adults with Diabetes Are Twice as Likely to Die from Heart Disease or Stroke.
- Millions of Americans Have Type 1 Diabetes.
- Many Early Symptoms of Diabetes Are Too Mild to Notice.
- Half of All Those with Diabetes Are Undiagnosed.
We encourage people to take action on this harmful disease:
- Healthy eating.
- Behing active.
- Taking medicine as prescribed.
- Monitoring your blood sugar levels, activity, and eating habits.
- Reducing risks to lower the chances of diabetes complications.
- Healthy coping with diabetes and emotional well-being.
- Problem solving to find solutions and take action.
Expert and Doctors said:
A diabetes specialist is called an endocrinologist. Endocrinologists specialize in the glands of the endocrine (hormone) system. The pancreas is the gland involved in diabetes. The pancreas produces insulin, and problems with insulin are what managing your diabetes is about.
- Make a commitment to managing your diabetes. …
- Don’t smoke. …
- Keep your blood pressure and cholesterol under control. …
- Schedule regular physicals and eye exams. …
- Keep your vaccines up to date. …
- Pay attention to your feet. …
- Consider a daily aspirin. …
- If you drink alcohol, do so responsibly.
Good Luck Have a great and happiest Future ahead