1 person dies of diabetes every seven seconds

DC CORRESPONDENT

PublishedApr 19, 2015, 11:22 am IST

UpdatedJan 10, 2016, 8:38 am IST

In India, one in every 10 is diagnosed with diabetes

Chennai: We usually see the doctors saying diabetes is not a disease and the person with diabetes can lead a more healthy life than a normal person, if sugar levels are kept in control. Yes, it is true that diabetes is not a disease and just a metabolic syndrome. But, the latest diabetes numbers released by International Diabetes Federation in the year 2014 observe that a patient is dying every 7 seconds due to diabetes complication.

Delivering a lecture on “Health and Environment” at State-level conference held at Madras Medical Mission (MMM) college of Health Sciences on Saturday, Dr. Nagaraj Manickam, scientist at Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), said, quoting sixth edition IDF world diabetes atlas, that the burden of diabetes is increasing globally at an alarming pace. By 2035, there will be around 592 million people with diabetes from current 387 million, which is a steep increase of 53 percent. 

In India, one in every 10 is diagnosed with diabetes and half of people with diabetes in South-East Asia are undiagnosed.What will happen if a person is having diabetes? The scientist said its impact on economy is enormous. Diabetes caused at least $612 billion dollars in health expenditure in 2014 – 11% of total spending on adults.  

Due to last of awareness, more than 79,000 children developed type 1 diabetes in 2013. 

More than 21 million live births were affected by diabetes during pregnancy in 2013 and 77 percent of people with diabetes live in low-and-middle income countries. Diabetes caused 4.9 million deaths in 2014. Dr. Manickam said inadequate knowledge on food content, high calorie intake, sedentary lifestyle have increased the risk of Type 2 

diabetes. 

“It is everyone’s responsibility to have good healthy foods to reduce the burden of diabetes and diabetic related complications”.On the research front, the scientist said recently, novel polymorphisms or genetic variants at six different loci associated with Type 2 diabetes were identified in South Asian people.  These discoveries will give additional insight into the mechanism of the disease.  However, it is really a big task to control Type 2 diabetes by gene  therapy. 

Diabetes may shorten healthy years of life

REUTERS

PublishedApr 20, 2016, 8:50 am IST

UpdatedApr 20, 2016, 8:50 am IST

Managing blood sugar, blood pressure and lipids should be reasonable steps to maximize healthy years of life, experts advise.

 Diabetes shortens life expectancy through the development of diabetes complications such as retinopathy, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease. (Photo: Pixabay)

Men and women with diabetes generally have shorter life expectancy and fewer years without disability than people without diabetes, according to a new study from Australia.

“Most individuals with diabetes are familiar with the classical complications affecting eyes, kidneys, feet and cardiovascular system, but this study highlights another impact, especially about the number of disability free years which were lost,” said senior author Dianna J. Magliano of Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute and Monash University in Melbourne.

Based on Australian diabetes studies, disability surveys and the national death index, the researchers estimated that 50-year old men and women with diabetes had a life expectancy of 30 years and almost 34 years, respectively – or about three years less than for men and women without diabetes.

“Disability” meant having at least one of 17 limitations or impairments, for at least six months, that restricts everyday activities like bathing or getting into or out of bed. Fifty-year-olds with diabetes could expect an average of about 13 years of disability-free life, eight or nine years less than men and women without diabetes, as reported in Diabetologia.

Women age 50 with diabetes would spend more of their remaining years living with disability than men with diabetes, the researchers estimated. “The differential impact of diabetes by sex on life expectancy difference can be explained largely by the fact that women with diabetes had longer life expectancy and significantly higher prevalence of disability, which is consistent with previously reported data for women in general,” Magliano said.

Although people with diabetes are living longer now than in the past, diabetes still carries a large risk of other health problems, said Dr. Ed Gregg of the Division of Diabetes Translation at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who was not part of the new study.

But, he said, there are wide variations among individuals. “Many people develop diabetes and manage it really successfully, have a life expectancy as long as anyone, based on how well they are able to manage it and work with their health system,” Gregg told Reuters Health by phone.

“Diabetes shortens life expectancy through the development of diabetes complications such as retinopathy, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease,” Magliano told Reuters Health by email. “We believe the development of these complications may also influence the development of disability, although the mechanisms are not so clear yet.”

Managing blood sugar, blood pressure and lipids should be reasonable steps to maximize healthy years of life, she said. “Another important intervention is physical activity, which is of proven value in slowing the decline of physical function, and should be strongly recommended in older people with diabetes, even if obesity and poor glycemic control are not a problem,” Magliano said.

Helping individuals with diabetes meet recommended preventive care guidelines and maintain an active lifestyle should reduce years lived with disability, Gregg said. “The other thing that we can do in clinical settings is try to identify people at high risk for diabetes and help them make lifestyle changes,” since type 2 diabetes is largely preventable in the first place, he said.