Diabetes as an epidemic Worldwise

Introduction

Diabetes has been approved as a chronic disease which transpires when the pancreas is unable to produce insulin in the body or when the body fails to utilize the insulin which it produces. If not treated timely it may end up resulting in serious damage to heart , blood vessels, kidneys, tooth, eyes ,obesity etc. Majority of the people who have diabetes are monitored with the basic symptoms such as fasting glucose, rise in blood pressure and sugar levels with a high rise in haemoglobin levels as well.

Those who do not manage their diabetes condition properly, could develop complications.  Says Matt Schmidt of Diabetes 365 “Diabetes complications can make life more difficult, if not more painful.  It’s extremely important to follow your Doctor’s recommended treatment, and to take your Diabetes condition seriously.  Having severe complications from diabetes may even prevent you from obtaining life insurance for diabetes.”

Past researches and records have shown that diabetes is in worldwide across in various countries and ethnic groups. Figures from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) revealed or specified that the people in above the age of 20 till the age of 79 are more in the risk of type 2 diabetes. In the records UAE ranks in the top 10 countries in the world with the diabetic disease.. In regards of World Diabetes Day (on 14 November ) the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) came up with the idea and a start up to provide diabetics with quality treatment and diagnostic services.

Symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes (Early Signs)

• Slow-healing sores/wounds or cuts- High level of blood sugar in the body can have the effect in blood flow resulting in nerve damage making it hard for the body to heal the cuts or wounds.
• Increased hunger, fatigue
• Increased urination
• Tiredness
• Blurry vision
• Increased thirst

Complications Prevalent in Diabetes

Too much or high amount of sugar level in the blood can lead to hyperglycemia which is harmful to the body.

It can result into various complications in the body such as:

• Heart Disease:  Heart disease is meant to be the root cause of death among the people suffering with diabetes as stated in the records of Centers for Disease Control. Diabetes can harm the blood vessels of body and may end up resulting heart attacks and strokes.
• Neuropathy:  Diabetic neuropathy or nerve damage occurs when there is high blood
•  glucose or sugar levels in the blood thereby affecting the parts of the body. The most common type of neuropathy is the peripheral neuropathy in the people detected with diabetes. This may result in poor or delay in healing of wounds.
• Gum disease and mental decay:  In the initial stages of diabetes , it lead to weakening of gums and tooth resulting in dry mouth which increases the risk associated with dental issues, tooth decay and oral infections. This is when you should consider dental solutions at Lombard Dental Studio in Thousand Oaks.
• Kidney disease: According to the records of CDC 33% of  people detected with diabetes  are suffering with chronic kidney disease. This can damage blood vessels of the kidney which can affect its functioning at later stages. Kidney is the vital part of our body when it comes to removing the excreta from the body and balancing fluid levels.
• Vision Problems:  High amount of blood sugar level in the body can lead to vision impairment. As stated above diabetes is the main cause of damage of the blood vessels, it can also damage the blood vessels in the retina. Other problems associated with vision are diabetic macular edema (DME), cataracts, glaucoma.
• Depression: As described by the researchers , diabetes and depression constitute a strong link and are considered to be related to each other and can even lead to worse situations if both arises at the same time.(Rachel Nall, 2019)

Prevention Tips for Type 2 Diabetes

• A balanced diet is always considered to be significant and effective for the proper flow of our body functions as organs and body tissues require ample amount of nutrition for their smooth functioning. Effective diets that prevent type 2 diabetes are those in which the body does not produce a lot of insulin such as intake of low carbohydrate food will help cutting down the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• People with diabetes should avoid food items containing high amount of sugary content in it such as fruits like mango, chiku and pomegranate instead should consume guava and jamuns. They should also reduce the intake of carbohydrates in their diets such as bread, chappati and rice.
• Aim or just ensure to have a healthy balanced meal in the diet plan by including nuts, olive oil, fish ( healthy for vision), meat and dairy products.

Methodology

One transverse study/The UAEDIAB (cross- sectional analysis) was once adopted and implemented in order to find the causes and the risks associated with diabetes among the population of residing in Dubai and northern Emirates of UAE. All the research and study work was done keeping in mind the rules and instructions. In the phase 1, all the non-UAE adults of age 18 were targeted whereas under phase 2 of the research, people of UAE with somewhat same type of including procedure were targeted. All the lactating women, physically-disabled people, people unable to communicate properly were excluded from the research. When a face to face interview of the targeted audience was conducted, a well formulated questionnaire was used to collect data on gender, nationality, family history of diabetes and lifestyle habits of the people. After that a fasting blood pressure is being collected to test glucose, haemoglobin and lipids samples.(Rifat Hamoudi, 2019) Underlisted are some of the few measures that should be managed by the doctors and other individuals-

1. All the therapists should aim to control glycaemic in type 2 diabetic patients where mutual discussion to be made about the pros and cons of pharmacotherapy i.e. about the patient’s well being and longevity.
2. All the specialists and experts should come up with an objective of or atleast maintaining a normal level of haemoglobin in their patients.
3. In treating patients with type-2 diabetes, doctors should aim to minimize symptoms related to hyperglycaemia and psychoanalysts should devise an authoritative structure to describe on the significant measures for diabetic patients.
4. Develop an effective central leadership structure to address the epidemic-including strategic important information and further programs.
5. Approach diabetes as a disease of nutrient deficiencies and not just nutrient excess.
6. Developing and implementing a goal-specific plan and budget to sufficiently address the epidemic. (Rao, June 29,2018, pp. 63-72)

Campaigning

A campaign based on screening the population of  the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia was conducted in 2004 with an objective of screening the patients of diabetes and hypertension. A well structured questionnaire was used in consideration of the same. All in all Diabetes Mellitus was diagnosed on the view of blood sugar level more than or equal to 126mg/dl. (Ageel J. Al-Ghamdi, 2007 Sep-Dec)

The results of first campaign were a huge success as 1,97,681 questionnaire were completed by the individuals wherein 2,14,381(33%) participated out of 6,50,000 target population. Out of the individuals screened, 31,711(16%) were detected to be positive for abnormal blood pressure .  (Ageel J. Al-Ghamdi, 2007 Sep-Dec)

Another campaign is Unite for Diabetes Campaign – The campaign was officially launched in June 2006 that aims to increase the awareness of disease amongst people by addressing poverty as a major hindrance for having access to healthcare facilities and insulin requirements and placing diabetes on  the global agenda. Their top most priority was to be ensure efficiency with effectiveness as a group so as to promote education on this disease at a global scale. The symbol of this campaign that is a blue circle which is made to represent unity that should always be present within the people in order to create awareness of issues concerning diabetes in the similar manner as red ribbons upgrade AIDS awareness among the people by ensuring it as a prime concern towards our health. The results of second campaign are shown below :  (Narayan2, 2008 Feb 19)

Table Showing Results for Unite for Diabetes Campaign  (Narayan2, 2008 Feb 19)

Conclusion:

So to conclude diabetes is an epidemic today which has reached worldwide taking its metabolic risk factors associated with type-2 diabetes such as excess weight/obesity, vascular diseases and many more. It is equally surprising to see the amount to negligence of countries like India towards a widespread disease showing less efforts in diagnosing, monitoring or management of such an epidemic. Therefore it is within our power to respond to the epidemic diabetes at the earliest and forestall its most harmful consequences. With this knowledge and adopting some of the preventions into our lives is today the need of the hour wherein it is well said that Life should be taken as a responsibility and not as a burden and if any setback arises then it should be dealt without any fear towards it because god will offer what he has planned for you. The small steps one should take to delay and prevent the disease and can live a long healthy live.

Recommendations

There are some recommendations that clinicians, public health bodies, policymakers , implementers are supposed to follow which involves practical actions based upon the condition and state of widespread of the disease.

1. Development of new tools and equipments that involves research work requires lot of funding and that should be made available.
2. Policies and further guidelines should be made by policymakers which will ensure coordination amongst public health programs which are aiming to control diabetes .
3. All the recommendations in the view of widespread of diabetes should be overlooked by the Ministry of Health taking implementation costs into consideration. If case there arises shortage of funds, then small projects for dual screening involving minor costs should be installed.
4. Technical assistance should also be ensured while implementing any project or plan so to ensure effective implementation .
5. Clinicians or doctors should also educate about the risks and complications associated with diabetes to their patients and also provide referral to services based on local context.(Foundation, 2014)

Bibliography

Ageel J. Al-Ghamdi, M. A.-T.-B.-Z. ( 2007 Sep-Dec). A COMMUNITY-BASED SCREENING CAMPAIGN FOR THE DETECTION OF DIABETES MELLITUS AND HYPERTENSION IN THE EASTERN PROVINCE, SAUDI ARABIA: METHODS AND PARTICIPATION RATES. PMC , 91–97.

Foundation, W. D. (2014). The Looming Co- Epedemic of TB-Diabetes: A Call to Action. Barcelona, Spain: The Union.

Narayan2, K. S. ( 2008 Feb 19). The Unite for Diabetes campaign: Overcoming constraints to find a global policy solution. PMC .

Rachel Nall, M. C. (2019). Symptoms and complications of diabetes. Medical News Today .

Rao, G. H. (June 29,2018). Management of Diabetes Epidemic: Global Perspective. EC Endocrinology and Metabolic Research , 63-72.

Rifat Hamoudi, #. N.-A.-A. (2019). Prediabetes and diabetes prevalence and risk factors comparison between ethnic groups in the United Arab Emirates.

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