Diabetes

Why diabetes is considered an unrecognized widespread disease

If diabetes is diagnosed too late, this can have a negative impact on life expectancy.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/africa-studio)

World Diabetes Day is on November 14. Time to draw attention to the fact that one in ten people in this country, around 800,000 people, suffer from diabetes mellitus. What is fatal, however, is that almost a third don't even know about it. With serious consequences, because "sugar" never stops its constant attack on the body.

The body needs insulin to utilize glucose as an energy source. But with type 2 diabetes, not enough of it is produced in the body or it cannot work properly. As a result, the sugar does not enter the body's cells and cannot be used to produce energy. It remains in the blood, which can have serious consequences for the blood vessels and organs. An elevated blood sugar level does not hurt at first, but is nevertheless dangerous: people with diabetes die five to ten years earlier - usually because they are diagnosed too late.

Have your blood sugar tested!
As part of World Diabetes Day on November 14, the question arises: "Are you undiagnosed?" All too often, diabetes is only diagnosed by chance. That's why all experts advise people to have their blood sugar tested regularly. In Austria, the determination of the long-term sugar value known as HbA1c can also be carried out by doctors in private practice at the expense of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK), independently of the screening.

Serious consequences if left untreated
If the disease is not treated adequately, irreparable damage to the blood vessels and nerves is often the result. This can lead to diseases of the eyes, kidneys, heart or feet in old age. The longer the blood sugar level remains elevated, the higher the risk. In order to prevent these late effects, a well-controlled long-term glucose level (HbA1c) is particularly important.

"The quicker the HbA1c value gets below 6.5 or even better, the lower the probability of suffering from late complications in old age," explains Dr. Petra Wolfinger, Head of the Metabolic Outpatient Clinic at the Ordensklinikum Linz Elisabethinen (Upper Austria). Studies show that if the value is below seven percent, secondary diseases are significantly lower. In the case of additional illnesses, doctors must decide whether the value should be set higher or lower.

Weltdiabetestag  

Aufmerksamkeit für „Zuckerkranke“

Der Weltdiabetestag (WDD) ist die weltweit größte Kampagne zur Aufklärung über Diabetes und erreicht ein weltweites Publikum von über einer Milliarde Menschen in über 160 Ländern. Er wird jedes Jahr am 14. November gefeiert, dem Geburtstag von Sir Frederick Banting, der 1922 zusammen mit Charles Best das Insulin entdeckte.

Der WDD wurde 1991 von der International Diabetes Federation (IDF) und der Weltgesundheitsorganisation ins Leben gerufen und wurde 2006 mit der Verabschiedung der UN-Resolution zum offiziellen Tag der Vereinten Nationen erklärt. An diesem Tag gibt es zahlreiche Programme in vielen Ländern der Welt. Vielfach werden auch Gebäude blau bestrahlt, um die Aufmerksamkeit für Diabetes zu erhöhen.

Insulin therapy for elderly patients
Insulin therapy for older patients aims to prevent hypoglycaemia. These lead to an increased risk of falls, as the expert explains. There is also evidence that frequent hypos promote the development of dementia. "Hypoglycaemia can have a negative impact on memory and motor skills. It also increases susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks," says Dr. Wolfinger. With a longer duration of diabetes, the perception threshold for low sugar levels decreases: blood sugar-increasing counter-reactions of the body start later in old age. Vascular elasticity also steadily decreases. Dangerous: high sugar peaks have a negative effect on the blood vessels.

"If the renal threshold of 180 is exceeded over a long period of time, countermeasures must be taken quickly," explains the endocrinologist. The renal threshold is the range above which the kidney's capacity to absorb sugar is reached. Regardless of type 1 or type 2 diabetes, experts recommend foods with a low glycemic index.

Put simply, these are products that cause blood sugar to rise slowly. The three-meal principle is recommended. This means that half of the plate should consist of vegetables. A quarter of carbohydrates and the rest as a source of protein complete the meal. Particular attention should always be paid to whole grain products.