Health Tips

Diabetes: The Projection Decades Later

Statistics

Fig 1. Incidence of diabetes in children under age 10 years in Norway, 1925–1995

Almost a hundred years ago, Insulin changed childhood diabetes from a rare fatal disease to a condition in which prolonged survival was possible. The projection of diabetes has increased to 30.3 million in 2017 from 1.58 million in 1958, an exponential rate of 30.8% each year averaged out. We now know of more than 1 person in our lives that suffers from diabetes. Decades of study have well established the knowledge and treatment modalities for successfully managing diabetes however success requires a collaborative team working diligently with the patient and family to achieve optimal health.

Awareness

In America alone, 90.6 million (2015) have prediabetes and only 10% of adults are aware that they have it. This number is expected to increase to 107.7 million by 2030.  

Prevention

The goals of diabetes prevention are:

• Preventing or delaying the onset of diabetes

• Preserving beta cell (pancreas) function

• Preventing or delaying microvascular and cardiovascular complications

• Reducing costs of diabetes care

Identifying high risk individuals is the first step towards taking action

Individuals whose BMI > 25kg/m2 (BMI > 23kg/m2 in Asian Americans), > 45 years old, women with a history of gestational diabetes with the following risk factors should be screened:

• Family history of diabetes mellitus in a first-degree relative

• High-risk race/ethnicity (eg, African, Latino, Asian, or Native American descent)

• Sedentary lifestyle

• Hypertension

• Dyslipidemia

• History of cardiovascular disease

• Polycystic ovary syndrome (women)

Diet and lifestyle 

• DIET - As the saying goes, you are what you eat. Diet is an unavoidable part of one’s lifestyle. Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet or a Mediterannean Diet are recommended and both are still flexible to alter accordingly to an individual’s preference. 

• Exercise -  30 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity on most days of the week (at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week) can help with weight loss and reduce the risk of diabetes.

• Smoking cessation

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Reference:

1. https://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/51/12/3353

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5278808/

3. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/prevention-of-type-2-diabetes-mellitus

Picture Credits:

1. https://www.idf.org/aboutdiabetes/what-is-diabetes/facts-figures.html

2. https://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/51/12/3353

3. https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/statistics/slides/long_term_trends.pdf

4. https://lexingtonhealthdepartment.org/national-diabetes-month-and-world-diabetes-day/

Written by

Dr. Jessamine Chong Sze Lynn