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1st UN World Diabetes Day is being celebrated all over world today

New Delhi, Wed, 14 Nov 2007 Pallavi Sharma

Newstrack India

Nov 14: Diabetes care for everyone, say WHO & IDF

To keep the body in good health is a duty and World Diabetes Day is one of such occasions when awareness about the health is created. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and World Health Organisation (WHO) started the WDD in 1991 on November 14 especially as the day happens to be the birthday of Frederick Banting who along with his companion Charnles Best discovered insulin.

The day is celebrated to create awareness among masses of the world that people affected with diabetes deserve the best possible care and education. World diabetes day 2007 is the first UN observed world diabetes day as was designated by the UN resolution in 2006 which recognised diabetes as a chronic, devitalising and costly disease.

Theme of the year is ‘Diabetes Care For Everyone’. If we look at numbers in the world, total 240 million people are affected with diabetes and this number is likely to grow to a global epidemic leading to 380 million in next two decades. This chronic and deadly disease has its share of 5% in the total death toll of the world. This increasing number needs consolidated effort to keep this disease.

What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease characterised by the disordered metabolism and increased sugar levels in blood mainly because of non-production of insulin or non-utilisation of insulin. Three main forms of diabetes are recognized type1, type2 and gestational diabetes.

Type-1 diabetes because of the autoimmune destruction of the pancreatic beta cells which produce insulin.

Type-2 diabetes occurs due to the insulin resistance or reduced insulin sensitivity combined with reduced insulin secretion.

Gestational diabetes having the same symptoms and consequences occurs during pregnancy as the hormones of pregnancy can cause insulin resistance in women genetically predisposed to developing this condition. It gets resolved with delivery of the child.

In simple phraseology insulin is a hormone that helps glucose utilised to produce energy but when affected type-1 diabetes, pancreas does not produce insulin and when affected by type-2 body does not use insulin well due to which sugar gets stored in the blood.

Symptoms
Characteristic symptoms are excessive urine production, excessive thirst, increased fluid intake, and blurred vision. Symptoms of type2 may include fatigue, weight loss and frequent urination. But this should be kept in mind that some people do not show any symptom so it is better to check the sugar level in blood.

Risks
High levels of sugar in blood can create various problems. Long-term complications may result in renal failure due to diabetic nephropathy, cardio-vascular disease, vision damage due to diabetic retinopathy, loss of sensation or pain due to diabetic neuropathy and liver damage. Affected person also runs the risk of impotence, micro-vascular damage and poor healing of wounds.

Solutions
First of all monitoring the glucose level is very important. Knowledge of the sugar levels in blood will decide the next step. Exercise, weight control and disciplined diet and food habits help a lot to control diabetes.

Type-1 diabetes is treatable with the injection of insulin with healthy life-style at the same time. While type-2 needs a combination of many things such as dietary treatment, tablets and injections.

Early diagnosis and education are crucial factors in reducing complications and saving lives.

Diabetes is no more a disease of adults. It has become one of the most common chronic diseases of child hood and can strike children at any age, the worst feature being that it often goes undiagnosed in children. Children are coming into the fold of type-1diabetes with the rate of 3% per year while in pre-school children it is growing at 5% per year. World diabetes day 2007 and 2008 campaigns are geared to challenge this and firmly hold that no child should die of diabetes. Type-2, once considered adults’ disease is growing at alarming rates in children.

WHO has started various programs to provide proper care to all diabetics. Let’s be a part of the care providers and set our goal along with WHO as the minimisation of complications and maximisation of quality of life and keep people around us healthy because he who has health, has hope. And he, who has hope, has everything.


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Comments:

P.Ganesan

January 5, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Dear doctor,

Can we publish this article in our Internal new magazine caklled TQC News.

P.Ganesan
TVS Motor company ltd,
Hosur.
Tamilnadu.

joy abbhi

November 14, 2007 at 12:00 AM

What is the cure for the diabtic patient who is effected by bad vision problem?My father is Suffering from this problem from last 10years...


 

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