Official statistics say: every 10 seconds in the world there are two more people with diabetes. Moreover, the most common form of the disease is type 2 diabetes.
“The Silent Killer”, “Global Threat”, “The Burden of Abundance” are not all the dramatic headlines of articles on type 2 diabetes that well reflect the essence of this pathology,” notes Nadezhda Maksimova, endocrinologist, candidate of medical sciences, assistant of the department of endocrinology No. THEM. Sechenov. “Research aimed at studying all aspects of diabetes continues, but so far we are “losing”: the number of patients is increasing, and the disease is becoming one of the main causes of death. According to the International Diabetes Federation, 232 million cases of diabetes remain undiagnosed, which means that it is associated with a high risk of complications due to the latent course and long-term lack of treatment.
The number of patients is growing, but each has its own story. The fact is that there are a number of reasons that can cause a disease. We’ll talk about this.
Age
If type 1 diabetes is called “juvenile diabetes”, since it is diagnosed in most cases in children and adolescents, then in the case of type 2 diabetes, the situation is reversed. One of the main risk factors is age – over 45 years. According to the 2017 Federal Diabetes Registry, almost 55% of all patients with type 2 diabetes were people over the age of 65 years. At the same time, statistics indicate that the disease is getting younger.
— Of course, we cannot influence the patient’s age or hereditary predisposition to diabetes, but we can help change lifestyle, apply technologies for weight loss, explain the importance of physical activity and eating healthy food, and thus reduce the risk of developing this disease, — Nadezhda Maksimova says
Heredity
– Also in the list of main risk factors is the presence of diabetes in relatives of the 1st degree of kinship, – says Dr. Maksimova. – And in the presence of hereditary burden, it is also very important to change the way of life.
How big are the risks of getting sick if one of the parents has diabetes? According to various versions, the probability that the diagnosis will go to the child is from 30 to 80%. Moreover, if the mother is diabetic, then this figure will be higher than if the father suffers from diabetes. But in the case when both parents live with diabetes, the risk increases to 100%.
Life
Diabetes is often non-hereditary. Especially in the current conditions, when many people spend most of their time at the computer, have a snack on the go and, in general, do not really follow their figure.
According to our expert, the main risk factors also include: overweight and low levels of physical activity. Since overweight and inactivity often coexist in the same person, it makes sense to consider them together.
Just imagine: according to Rospotrebnadzor, every extra kilogram increases the risk of developing diabetes by 5%! How to adequately evaluate your volumes? Here you should focus on the Body Mass Index – you can use a special calculator on the Internet, or you can calculate it manually: [weight] in kg divided by [height] squared (in meters).
And as for physical activity, it is not at all necessary to run for an annual subscription to a fitness club. Enough at least 2,5 hours a week to give yourself moderate exercise. For example, you can go shopping (and NOT drive a car) or instead of the next evening series, give yourself a walk in the fresh air. But aerobics – albeit at home – will not be superfluous for sure.
Having prediabetes
As the name suggests, this is what is a direct prerequisite for diabetes.
“Prediabetes is a condition in which blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be classified as diabetes,” explains Nadezhda Maksimova. – One in 13 adults has prediabetes, and one in six children is born to a mother who had high blood glucose during pregnancy – and in 84% of cases, the increase in blood glucose was associated with diabetes. These conditions are associated with a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.
If you have been diagnosed with prediabetes, consider this an SOS signal from the body. According to our expert, this does not mean at all that you will definitely develop diabetes, but to prevent this from happening, it is important to take immediate measures to change lifestyle and nutrition.
“At the same time, the diagnosis and prevention of prediabetes and diabetes should be carried out in medical institutions and certified laboratories under the supervision of a doctor,” emphasizes Nadezhda Maksimova. – Portable glucometers should not be used to diagnose various forms of carbohydrate metabolism disorders, as they have a significant measurement error. To reduce blood glucose levels, body weight and reduce the poor prognosis of diabetes, comprehensive programs have now been developed, including education and drug therapy.