Facts on Diabetes

Most of the people often misunderstand about diabetes disease. There are many facts about diabetes, related to its cause and treatment. This article brings you some facts on diabetes and tries to solve the answers of the questions that rise when diabetes is diagnosed. If you have pre-diabetes, type 1diabetes, type 2 diabetes or gestational diabetes, you can find all the information here.

Types of Diabetes

Facts on Diabetes

  1. Diabetes is of three types. Type 1 diabetes is usually found in adolescents and children, that happens when the pancreas fails to produce insulin which is a hormone controlling glucose amount. Nearly 10 per cent of people with diabetes have this type.
  2. The remaining 90 per cent people have type 2 diabetes. This happens when the pancreases fail to produce enough insulin, or body does not use the insulin which is produced. It develops during adulthood, though the increasing numbers of children in high-risk populations are diagnosed with this type of diabetes too.
  3. Third type of diabetes is gestational diabetes which is a temporary condition that results during pregnancy. It affects nearly 2 to 4 per cent of all pregnancies and involves a high risk of creating diabetes for both mother and child.
  4. Prediabetes is the condition where a person�s glucose level of the blood is higher than normal, but not so high to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

Facts on Diabetes

Diabetes can happen to anybody. But people having close relatives with such disease, somewhat have high chances to develop it. Other factors of risk can be high cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity and high blood pressure. The risk of having diabetes rises as people grow older. People who are more than 40 and are overweight can develop diabetes, though the incidence of type 2 diabetes in teenagers is growing. Diabetes is common in African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans. People who get diabetes during pregnancy are likely to get full-blown diabetes in later life.

Is Diabetes Serious?

Diabetes if left untreated can create many complications that can be:

  • Eye disease
  • Problems with erection (impotence)
  • Kidney disease
  • Heart disease
  • Nerve damage

You can prevent the onset of such complications by knowing the risk factors or signs and symptoms of diabetes.

Symptoms of Diabetes

  1. Frequent urination
  2. Cuts and bruises that is slow to heal
  3. Extreme fatigue or lack of energy
  4. Weight change (gain or loss)
  5. Frequent or recurring infections
  6. Trouble getting or maintaining an erection
  7. Blurred vision
  8. Unusual thirst
  9. Tingling or numbness in the hands or feet

It has been observed that people who have type 2 diabetes will show no or less symptoms.

Treating Diabetes

People with diabetes can live independent, active and vital lives by making a lifelong commitment of careful diabetes management that include:

  • Having knowledge about diabetes is very necessary. People with diabetes must know about their condition.
  • Regular physical activity or exercise helps your body lessen the blood glucose levels, along with weight loss, reducing stress and improving fitness.
  • Maintaining a healthy weight with balance diet is necessary in the management of type 2 diabetes.
  • Proper medications prescribed by doctor must be followed. Having a gluco check at home can make you aware of your glucose levels.
  • High blood pressure can create problems like heart disease, eye disease, and stroke and kidney disease. People with diabetes must maintain a blood pressure level at or below 130/80.

Preventing Diabetes

It is believed that change in lifestyle can prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. A good and proper meal plan, physical activity and weight control are necessary prevention steps.

Some Other Facts on Diabetes

  1. Around 3.2 million deaths are due to complications of diabetes
  2. The costs of lost production are five times more than the direct health care cost, as per the estimates made from 25 Latin American countries.
  3. The top 10 countries having such problem are USA, China, India, Japan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia, Italy and Bangladesh.
  4. Nearly 171 million people all over the world have diabetes which is likely to get more than double by 2030.
  5. Recent studies in Canada, China, USA and other European countries have shown that proper lifestyle can save the onset of diabetes.