14 Years of Experience
According to the statistics of International Diabetes Federation comparative prevalence of Diabetes during 2007 is 8.0 % and likely to increase to 7.3% by 2025. Number of people with diabetes is 246 million (with 46% of all those affected in the 40–59 age group) and likely to increase to 380 million by 2025. India leads the global top ten in terms of the highest number of people with diabetes with a current figure of 40.9 million, followed by China with 39.8 million.
In 2021, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.6 million deaths and 47% of all deaths due to diabetes occurred before the age of 70 years. Another 530 000 kidney disease deaths were caused by diabetes, and high blood glucose causes around 11% of cardiovascular deaths. However, it is possible to reduce the impact of diabetes by taking preventive measures for type 2 diabetes and providing early diagnosis and proper care for all types of diabetes. These measures can help people living with the condition avoid or delay complications.
Diabetes mellitus, or simply diabetes, is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas is no longer able to make insulin, or when the body cannot make good use of the insulin it produces. Not being able to produce insulin or use it effectively leads to raised glucose levels in the blood.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps the glucose to enter the cells where it is used as fuel by the body. A person with diabetes may not have enough insulin, or the insulin that the body makes may not work as well as it should be. This causes the blood sugar level to go off balance and become too high.
There are three main types of diabetes, there is also a stage before diabetes called pre-diabetes - is a condition where your Blood sugar level elevates to a level higher than the normal range for most people, but is still low enough not to be considered diabetes.
The first main type of diabetes is Type 1 diabetes, an autoimmune disease where the pancreas produces very little insulin or no insulin at all. People who get Type 1 diabetes are usually under the age of 20. Type 1 diabetes will have the disease for life and will need treatment in the form of insulin shots or an insulin pump.
Type 2 diabetes is normally found in people who are overweight as they get older. About 90 percent of all cases of diabetes are Type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is sometimes considered a lifestyle disease because it is normally triggered by living a fairly sedentary life, being overweight and not participating in exercise.
The third main type of diabetes is gestational diabetes, which is a condition that women can get when they are in the second trimester of pregnancy. About 4 percent of all pregnant women will develop gestational diabetes.
It is important to note that these categories may not be comprehensive or universally recognised, and there may be overlaps or variations in how different experts classify diabetes.
Diabetes symptoms depend on the level of your blood sugar. Some people, especially if they have prediabetes, gestational diabetes or type 2 diabetes, may not have symptoms. In type 1 diabetes, symptoms tend to come on quickly and be more severe.
Some of the symptoms of diabetes are:
Negative effects of uncontrolled diabetes are seen on different organs like eyes, kidneys, nerves, feet, heart, teeth and brain.
Some people with diabetes develop an eye complication known as diabetic retinopathy which can affect their eyesight. If retinopathy is diagnosed early – usually from an eye screening test - it can be treated and sight loss can be prevented.
High blood sugar and high blood pressure can lead to kidney diseases. Diabetes can make the kidneys lose their ability to filter out waste products and can lead to kidney failure. This is caused by high blood sugar levels and high blood pressure. It is known as diabetic nephropathy or kidney disease.
One of the most common complications of diabetes is diabetic neuropathy. Neuropathy means damage to nerves that run throughout the body.This can make it harder for the nerves to carry messages between the brain and every part of our body so it can affect how we see, hear, feel and move.
Feet problems in diabetes most often happen when there is nerve damage or when the blood flow is poor. Such diabetics are prone to infections, which can cause severe feet problems sometimes also leading to amputation if untreated. Nerve damage can affect the feeling in your feet and uncontrolled blood sugar can damage the circulation, making it slower for sores and cuts to heal.
Disease of the heart and blood vessels is the major cause of death in patients with type 2 diabetes. People with type 2 diabetes are 2 to 4 times more likely to develop heart disease and stroke.
People with diabetes are more likely to have problems with their teeth and gums.Too much sugar in blood can lead to more sugar in your saliva. This brings bacteria which produces acid which attacks tooth enamel and damages your gums. The blood vessels in your gums can also become damaged, making gums more likely to get infected.
As many as one third of the people with diabetes will have a skin disorder or affected by diabetes at some time in their lives. In fact, such problems are sometimes the first sign that a person has diabetes.
