Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterised by high blood sugar levels, resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. Diabetes used to be and still is a major public health problem afflicting the developing countries. However, recent evidence indicates that those in developed countries are also suffering due to the disease.
 

 Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease characterised by high blood sugar levels, resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. Diabetes used to be and still is a major public health problem afflicting the developing countries. However, recent evidence indicates that those in developed countries are also suffering due to the disease.
Diabetes can cause physical and psychological disability and premature mortality among those affected and imposes a heavy financial burden on health services.
And this is not only because the white-collar workforce in developed nations is more tied to their desks and hence exercising less, but also because childhood and adult obesity is on the rise, along with stress, and the ageing population. This is no different in the US and Europe.
Typically those with Type 2 diabetes go undiagnosed for about 10 years until they start showing signs of complications such as diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness and visual disability, kidney failure, heart disease, neuropathy and diabetic foot disease, which can lead to foot or leg amputation.
At least 50 percent of people are unaware that they have diabetes, until they end up at doctor’s office because of some other condition. This is a tragedy, since diabetes is a manageable condition. Several studies have shown that the prevalence and diabetes-associated complications can be reduced through early and appropriate intervention.
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and World Health Organization have reported that about 250 million people around the world have diabetes. This number could rise to 380 million by 2025 if action is not taken. Almost four million people every year die because of diabetes. Diabetics die between five and ten years earlier than those without the condition.
According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), in 2007, the five countries with the largest numbers of people with diabetes are India (40.9 million), China (39.8 million), the United States (19.2 million), Russia (9.6 million), and Germany (7.4 million).
In 2007, per IDF, the Western Pacific Region and the European Region had the highest number of people with diabetes, with estimates of about 67 and 53 million, respectively. The highest rate of diabetes prevalence was found in the North American region (9.2 percent) followed by the European Region (8.4 percent).
Diabetes is frequently associated with a high body mass index, hypertension, and high serum cholesterol levels, representing a dangerous combination of risk factors for the development of heart and circulatory system disorders (also known as cardiovascular disease or CVD.) Most people know that heart disease is a number one killer. But not everyone is aware that those with heart conditions might also tend to have diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes has become the frequent condition in people with kidney failure in Western world and is responsible for huge dialysis costs. The reported incidence according to the IDF varies between 30 percent and 40 percent in countries such as Germany and the USA. Ten percent to 20 percent of people with diabetes die of renal failure.
Recent large surveys and registries in patients with heart failure, including the Euro Heart Failure Surveys (EHFS) I and II, have shown that diabetes in such patients was also present in 30 to 40 percent of cases. This additional metabolic disorder worsens long-term prognosis and complicates the management of patients with acute and chronic heart failure.
Is it any wonder then that industrialised nations are spending more than ever on diabetes and diabetes associated illnesses. As mentioned on the British Heart Foundation Statistics Website, cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in Europe and in the European Union (EU) accounting for over 4.3 million and two million deaths each year, respectively.
The main forms of CVD are coronary heart disease and stroke. Coronary heart disease by itself is the single most common cause of death in Europe and in the EU: with over 1.92 million and 741,000 deaths each year, respectively. Stroke by itself is the second single most common cause of death in both Europe: and the EU.
Managing diabetes-associated symptoms is an expensive business....the IDF estimates that treating and preventing diabetes and its complications is costing the world USD 232 billion (148 billion Euro) every year, and as the number of diabetics goes up, so will the costs.
Early diagnosis is critical, because as the disease progresses the beta cells within the pancreas are progressively damaged. Usually by the time diabetes is diagnosed, half of the beta cells have ceased making insulin, a hormone needed to convert blood sugar from foods we eat into energy that we can use. In the early stages of the disease, patients often have no dramatic symptoms hence diabetes is called a “silent killer,” a term we have thus far associated with cardiovascular diseases. Previously, the emphasis used to be only on management of diabetes, but these days attention is also being focused on its prevention because of the astounding costs from every angle associated with the condition.
For some time now, it has been known that up to 80 percent of Type 2 diabetes is preventable by adopting a healthy diet and increasing physical activity. So why not do something about it by making the appropriate lifestyle changes? And by getting fasting blood sugar levels checked periodically so that pre-diabetes can be monitored. With more and more globalisation, changing food habits, and sedentary lifestyles, it is imperative that even those in Europe not neglect managing their abnormal blood glucose levels, especially since prevalence of diabetes is 8.4 percent in the European Region and the numbers are expected to increase.