The Dreadful Facts About Diabetes (Reflections of World Diabetes Day 2017)

Diabetes is a disease that we often hear in everyday life. Diabetes can affect anyone regardless of gender or age. Diabetes is a deadly disease and needs to get serious attention. What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease that occurs when your blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is too high. Blood glucose is your main source of energy and comes from the food you eat. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get into your cells to be used for energy. Sometimes your body doesn’t make enough—or any—insulin or doesn’t use insulin well. Glucose then stays in your blood and doesn’t reach your cells.^[1] According to WHO, diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. Hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and over time leads to serious damage to many of the body's systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels.^[2]

From the above definition, diabetes is closely related to food. The foods we eat everyday provide energy intake for our bodies. Diabetes is often also caused by the wrong diet so that the increase in blood sugar levels which we are unaware.

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The Common Symptoms of Diabetes

There are two types of diabetes that we know, namely type 1 and type 2. Both types of diabetes have some of the same telltale warning signs. (1) Hunger and fatigue. If your body doesn't make enough or any insulin, or if your cells resist the insulin your body makes, the glucose can't get into them and you have no energy. This can make you more hungry and tired than usual. (2) Peeing more often and being thirstier. The average person usually has to pee between four and seven times in 24 hours, but people with diabetes may go a lot more. (3) Dry mouth and itchy skin. Because your body is using fluids to make pee, there's less moisture for other things. You could get dehydrated, and your mouth may feel dry. Dry skin can make you itchy. (4) Blurred vision. Changing fluid levels in your body could make the lenses in your eyes swell up. They change shape and lose their ability to focus.^[3]

The common symptoms of diabetes:

• Going to the toilet a lot, especially at night.
• Being really thirsty.
• Feeling more tired than usual.
• Losing weight without trying to.
• Genital itching or thrush.
• Cuts and wounds take longer to heal.
• Blurred vision.^[4]

Here I present a comparison difference Diabetes type 1 and type 2:

Condition	Type 1 Diabetes	Type 2 Diabetes
Starting Appear	Generally childhood and adolescence, although there is also in adult <40 years	In old age, generally > 40 years
Clinical state at diagnosis	Severe diagnosis	Light diagnosis
Blood insulin level	Low, no	Quite high, normal
Weight	Usually thin	Fat or normal
Recommended management	Insulin therapy, diet, exercise	Diet, exercise, oral hypoglycemic

Processed data is sourced from the website gejaladiabetes.com^[5]

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Diabetes Facts

Every year, diabetics are increasing. Globally, an estimated 422 million adults were living with diabetes in 2014, compared to 108 million in 1980. The global prevalence (age-standardized) of diabetes has nearly doubled since 1980, rising from 4.7% to 8.5% in the adult population. Diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2012. Higher-than-optimal blood glucose caused an additional 2.2 million deaths, by increasing the risks of cardiovascular and other diseases. Forty-three percent of these 3.7 million deaths occur before the age of 70 years. The percentage of deaths attributable to high blood glucose or diabetes that occurs prior to age 70 is higher in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.^[6]

WHO Region	1980 (Number in millions)	2014 (Number in millions)
Africa Region	4	25
Region of the Americas	18	62
Eastern Mediterranean Region	6	43
European Region	33	64
South-East Asia Region	17	96
Western Pacific Region	29	131
Total	108	422

_{Totals include non-Member States. You can download the full report here.^[6]}

The increase in the number of diabetics in the past 34 years is almost 4-fold globally. This is evidence that diabetes can not be considered trivial. In the infographics of this website, it is mentioned that:

• 415 million adults have diabetes. By 2040 this will rise to 642 million.
• 1 in 11 adults has diabetes (415 million)
• By 2040, 1 adult in 10 (642 million) will have diabetes
• 1 in 7 births is affected by gestational diabetes
• Every 6 seconds a person dies from diabetes (5.0 million deaths)^[7]

In addition, WHO also released 10 facts about diabetes. You can see in the table below:

Fact 1	About 422 million people worldwide have diabetes
Fact 2	Diabetes is 1 of the leading causes of death in the world
Fact 3	There are 2 major forms of diabetes
Fact 4	A third type of diabetes is gestational diabetes
Fact 5	Type 2 diabetes is much more common than type 1 diabetes
Fact 6	People with diabetes can live long and healthy lives when their diabetes is detected and well-managed
Fact 7	Early diagnosis and intervention is the starting point for living well with diabetes
Fact 8	The majority of diabetes deaths occur in low – and middle – income countries
Fact 9	Diabetes is an important cause of blindness, amputation and kidney failure
Fact 10	Type 2 diabetes can be prevented

_{See citation [8]}

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World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day is celebrated on every 14th of November. In 2017, this celebration is themed: Women and Diabetes - our right to a healthy future.

World Diabetes Day is the primary global awareness campaign focusing on diabetes mellitus. Led by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), each World Diabetes Day focuses on a theme related to diabetes. Type 2 Diabetes is largely preventable and treatable non-communicable disease that is rapidly increasing in numbers worldwide. Type 1 Diabetes is not preventable but can be treated with insulin shots. Topics covered have included diabetes and human rights, diabetes and lifestyle, diabetes and obesity, diabetes in the disadvantaged and the vulnerable, and diabetes in children and adolescents. While the campaigns last the whole year, the day itself marks the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best and John James Rickard Macleod, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922.^[9]

The World Diabetes Day 2017 campaign will promote the importance of affordable and equitable access for all women at risk for or living with diabetes to the essential diabetes medicines and technologies, self-management education and information they require to achieve optimal diabetes outcomes and strengthen their capacity to prevent type 2 diabetes.^[10]

Why in 2017 Diabetes campaign focused on women and gender. There are currently over 199 million women living with diabetes and this total is projected to increase to 313 million by 2040. Diabetes is the ninth leading cause of death in women globally, causing 2.1 million deaths each year. Two out of every five women with diabetes are of reproductive age, accounting for over 60 million women worldwide. Women with diabetes have more difficulty conceiving and may have poor pregnancy outcomes. Without pre-conception planning, type 1 and type 2 diabetes can result in a significantly higher risk of maternal and child mortality and morbidity. Approximately one in seven births is affected by gestational diabetes (GDM), a severe and neglected threat to maternal and child health.^[10]

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Conclusion

Looking at the dreadful data and facts about diabetes, I concluded that diabetes is one of the scourges that is frightening to humans. Just like other diseases, chronic diabetes can be deadly. Through the commemoration of World Diabetes Day on November 14th, it is important for us to take part. At least, we can do prevention starting from ourselves and family. As the data above, By 2040, 1 adult in 10 (642 million) will have diabetes. If everyone is aware of the dangers of diabetes, it is not impossible that the above data will not occur.

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