Goodbye Diabetes, Healthier Life (Part I)

by lkts1ji2kod on 2011-04-07 12:36:37

Diabetes has become the third most serious chronic disease harming human health in the world, following tumors and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. The number of diabetic patients in China, including those with abnormal glucose regulation, has reached over 50 million. Meanwhile, with the increase in obesity rates among children and adolescents, the onset age of diabetes is showing a continuous downward trend. As more and more people around us are diagnosed with diabetes and various complications frequently endangering lives, the public has begun to pay attention to this common chronic killer. Starting from November 14th this year, the United Nations has renamed this day from World Diabetes Day to United Nations Diabetes Day, indicating an increasing level of attention towards diabetes. What harm does diabetes cause to the human body? How can we prevent and control diabetes?

One of the risk factors for inducing diabetes is obesity.

"Besides family inheritance, the main reason for getting diabetes is obesity. With the improvement in living standards, people consume too much fat, combined with an unreasonable lifestyle of eating more and exercising less, leading to excessive calories being stored in the body. This has resulted in an increasing number of obese individuals, triggering metabolic syndromes such as blood sugar, lipids, and blood pressure," Director Wang of Heilongjiang Ruijing analyzed the reasons for the current increase in diabetic patients. Diabetes is a disease caused by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors, which leads to the body's inability to normally release or use insulin, causing an inappropriate elevation of glucose levels in the blood, with high blood sugar being its main marker. "After examination, if the fasting venous plasma glucose concentration is greater than 7.0mmol/L, it indicates that one has diabetes. If it is between 6.1~7.0mmol/L, it is classified as impaired fasting glucose, posing a risk of developing diabetes," Director Wang said. With the deepening research on diabetes in the medical field, diabetes is divided into two major categories: Type 1 and Type 2. In our country, over 90% of diabetic patients have Type 2 diabetes, with obesity being a risk factor for Type 2 diabetes. Among Type 2 diabetic patients, 80% to 90% are obese.

"Diabetes and Children and Adolescents" is this year's slogan and theme for "United Nations Diabetes Day," emphasizing the prevention and control of diabetes starting from a young age. The proposal of this theme is closely related to the increase in obese children. Director Wang introduced, "Previously, Type 1 diabetes mostly occurred in children and adolescents. From the current clinical treatment perspective, more and more children are getting Type 2 diabetes due to obesity, especially in big cities, where the situation is almost alarming. With the improvement in living standards, the number of overweight and obese children is increasing. Moreover, children prefer fast food like McDonald's and KFC, and the high-calorie intake easily leads to obesity, which can trigger diabetes. Youth and children are the future of the country, and in the long term, this phenomenon will affect the overall quality of the entire population," said experts from Heilongjiang Ruijing, expressing their concerns about the growing number of obese children.

Diabetes, Great Harm

"Diabetes is a very terrifying disease. Once you have diabetes, all kinds of ailments appear. It can invade any part of the body, affecting all systems, particularly causing significant harm to the eyes, kidneys, cardiovascular system, and nervous system," Doctor Zhai analyzed the harm diabetes causes to the human body. "Diabetes cannot be cured; it is a lifelong disease, and its main harm lies in its complications."

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the severe complications of diabetes. Due to long-term elevated blood sugar, the body's metabolism becomes disordered, and high blood sugar damages small blood vessels. The damage to the capillaries in the retina leads to the loss of normal barrier function, resulting in leakage, which manifests as early retinal lesions such as edema, bleeding, and microaneurysms. As capillary occlusion occurs, it causes retinal ischemia, leading to proliferative lesions with new blood vessel formation, which in turn causes massive retinal bleeding and extensive vitreous hemorrhage. The older the age and the longer the duration of diabetes, the higher the incidence of retinopathy. Retinal lesions are the primary cause of blindness in diabetic patients, with the risk of blindness being 25 times higher than in non-diabetics.

Diabetes poses significant harm to the kidneys, and diabetic nephropathy is one of the main causes of death in diabetic patients. Due to high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and high blood lipids, the kidneys are affected, promoting the occurrence and development of diabetic nephropathy. Early symptoms include proteinuria and swelling, while late-stage manifestations include renal failure. In late-stage kidney diseases caused by various reasons, diabetes accounts for the first position, and diabetic patients have a 17 times higher chance of developing uremia compared to the general population.

Diabetic neuropathy is one of the most common chronic complications of diabetes and is a major cause of death and disability in diabetics. Director Wang often encounters such patients in his daily consultations, "The manifestations of neuropathy are varied. For example, some people experience numbness in their limbs, others feel tingling in their legs, described as needle pricks or ant bites. Another type is autonomic neuropathy, manifested by abnormal sweating, diarrhea, or constipation, where patients sleeping in bed immediately produce a sweat mark in the shape of a person."

To help patients and those in need better understand information related to their condition, free online expert consultation services are provided, where authoritative experts answer questions related to diabetes online, offering the most professional, refined, and personalized treatment plans while keeping your privacy confidential. If you need help, you can click on online consultation to communicate with authoritative experts. Diabetes expert hotline: 0451-58821111.