Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes is a common condition in today’s world and is far too complex in what it is, how it impacts individuals, how it affects different organs and parts of your body to simply put into this blog. I will be looking deep into diabetes in these series of diabetes blogs coming up.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is bracketed together with other metabolic diseases which is typified by hyperglycemia developing from secretion of insulin deficiencies, the activity of insulin or both. Prolonged hyperglycemia of diabetes is linked with significant periods of damage, dysfunction, and numerous organs begin to fail, in particular, eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, and blood vessels.
Global burden of diabetes
Globally, diabetes has major implications on countries’ health systems. The International Diabetes Federation approximates back in 2015 that individuals aged between 20-79 years old, that is 1 in 11 adults has diabetes. This is further forecasted to rise in 2040 to 642 million in a recent article. Below this photo illustrates globally the impact on countries with the number of individuals who have T2DM.
International Diabetes Federation Diabetes Atlas. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 7th edn Brussels, Belgium: International Diabetes Federation, 2015 http://www.diabetesatlas.org.
Numbers you need to know
Pre diabetic
Pre diabetic“Prediabetes” is the joint term for impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and/or impaired fasting glucose (IFG).
- IFG is defined by the American Diabetes Association ADA as a plasma glucose level between 100 and 125 mg/dL (5.6–6.9 mmol/L) following an overnight fast.
- IGT is defined by the ADA as a 2-hour plasma glucose level between 140 and 199 mg/dL (>7.8 and <11.0 mmol/L) following an overnight fast and 75 g oral glucose load (HbA1C 39-46 mmol/mol (5.7-6.4%) = high risk of evolution to diabetes or prediabetes).
Diagnosing diabetes
- A fasting plasma glucose >126 mg/dL (>7.0 mmol/ L) on two occasions or more or
- A 2-hour plasma glucose >200 mg/dL (>11.1 mmol/ L) after 75 g glucose load (oral glucose tolerance test, OGTT) or
- A random plasma glucose >200 mg/dL (>11.1 mmol/L).
It is extremely important for podiatrist and persons living with diabetes to be fully aware of all aspects associated with diabetes. Stay tuned to the next series of blog posts which will look further into all the different types of diabetes. Booking online for appointment is super easy or you can call our clinic on (03) 9711 7562 and our team will be able to help you.
