In Poland, exceptionally many, as many as 5 million people, have the so-called pre-diabetes, which in a few years may lead to the development of diabetes – said prof. Władysław Grzeszczak from Katowice.
The meeting, organized by the College of Family Physicians, was devoted to the situation of diabetic patients in Poland. “It begins a series of press conferences devoted to chronic diseases, which in our country are an increasingly serious health problem and require new solutions,” said the spokesman of the College of Family Physicians, Dr. Michał Sutkowski.
Head of the Department and Clinic of Internal Medicine, Nephrology and Diabetology of the Medical University of Silesia, prof. Władysław Grzeszczak pointed out that over 3 million people suffer from diabetes in Poland, and in 1 million it has not yet been detected. Even more Poles are at risk of this disease.
“We estimate that the so-called pre-diabetes occurs in 5 million of our countrymen. We belong to the industrialized countries where it occurs extremely often “- emphasized the specialist.
Pre-diabetes is determined by the level of glucose in your blood. Its correct concentration should not exceed 100 mg / dl. If, after two fasting tests, i.e. at least 8 hours after the last meal, it remains between 100 and 125 mg / dl, then it is called pre-diabetes. It is also known as impaired glycaemia or glucose intolerance.
Pre-diabetes is not a disease and does not require treatment. When it is detected, lifestyle changes are sufficient to reduce the risk of developing diabetes. “It is necessary if we want to avoid this dangerous disease. In 10 percent people with pre-diabetes develop diabetes within a year “- said prof. Grzeszczak.
Dr. Sutkowski admitted that family doctors often detect pre-diabetes in their patients when they order a blood glucose test. Each primary care office has a blood glucose meter that allows you to perform such tests. They should be commissioned to anyone over 45 years of age. When the glucose level is normal, another such test must be repeated in three years.
“We also perform glucose tolerance tests,” added Dr. Sutkowski. It consists in the fact that the blood sugar level is first measured on an empty stomach. Then, within 5 minutes, you need to drink 75 g of glucose dissolved in 250-300 ml of water. If your blood glucose is 2–140 mg / dL after 190 hours, your body is not coping with glucose. When the glucose level exceeds 200 mg / dL, it is called diabetes.
Prof. Grzeszczak emphasized that after exceeding the level of 126 mg / dl of blood glucose measured in a fasting state, the risk of numerous complications grows sharply. These are cardiovascular diseases, mainly heart attacks and strokes, as well as kidney failure, damage to the retina of the eye (retinopathy) and polyneuropathy causing disturbances in sensation, heart rhythm, blood pressure, gastrointestinal tract (persistent diarrhea) as well as urination disorders and impotence .
“The heart of a diabetic with neuropathy does not accelerate during exercise, because it does not adapt its rhythm to it, it beats still the same. There is oxygen deficiency and cardiac arrhythmias, which can even result in ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death “- said the specialist.
People with diabetes have a significantly lowered pain threshold. “We recently saw a patient with a fever reaching 40 degrees C. He had no infection. It turned out that the blade of a rotary shaver was stuck in his foot, and it had watered down. He did not pay attention to it, because he no longer felt in her “- said prof. Grzeszczak.
Diabetes is often not detected until 6-10 years after it begins to develop. The first symptom is often a heart attack or stroke. When this disease is detected, every second patient already has serious complications, most often cardiovascular.
“Diabetics are 20-30 percent. more likely to develop cancer. Men with diabetes are less likely to develop prostate cancer, but like women, they are more susceptible to other cancers. This risk is even more increased by some antidiabetic drugs “- said prof. Grzeszczak.
Lifestyle changes in 35% However, it allows patients to inhibit the development of diabetes complications and reduce blood glucose to the correct level.
“You just need to eat less, no more than 1800-2000 calories a day, and consume the so-called low glycemic index. You also have to move more, you have to overcome at least 10 a day. steps. The number of steps is well measured by a smartphone equipped with a simple program, ‘said prof. Grzeszczak.
Zbigniew Wojtasiński (PAP)