Many people are worried about epidemics.
It’s a reasonable concern, but it often overlooks a major epidemic that is
already gripping our own nation:
diabetes. Unlike epidemics that begin with
biologic agents in other parts of the world, diabetes is already with us –
right now. Like other epidemics, though, single measures can prevent the
disease from spreading – but only if we understand diabetes and heed the call
to action.
The Epidemic
Today, more than 245 million people worldwide
are living with diabetes. Of this number, around 70,000 children under the age
of 15 develop
Type 1 diabetes each year or almost 200 children a day. Type 1
diabetes is a condition caused by a lack of the pancreatic hormone
insulin that
helps
glucose enters the
body’s
cells. Glucose is the main source of energy of
the body’s cells. Of the estimated 440,000 cases of Type 1 diabetes in children
worldwide, more than a quarter live in Southeast Asia. Many more have impaired fasting glucose, which is
better known as pre-diabetes. It is a silent killer with a devastating human
social and economic impact. Unfortunately, about 50 percent of people afflicted
with the disease do not even known about it. It is estimated that every 10
seconds, two persons develop diabetes due to lack of ample knowledge.
Type 2
diabetes, in which the body cannot respond normally to the available insulin
that is made, was once seen as a disease of adults. Over a 20-year period, type
2 diabetes has doubled in children in Japan, so that it is now more common than Type 1. In native
and aboriginal children in North America and Australia, the prevalence rate of Type 2 diabetes ranges from
1.3 to 5.3 percent.
Last
November 14, 2007, has been declared by the United Nations as World Diabetes
Day to highlight the severe risks that the disease poses to “families,
countries, and the entire world.” To focus on this alarming trend, the United
Nations has designated the theme as “Diabetes in Children and Adolescents.” It
aims to establish firmly the message that “No child should die of diabetes.”
The UN further noted that “the growing pandemic is set to overwhelm healthcare
resources in every country, and in many, it is disabling or killing people of
working age.” Statistics show one person dies of diabetes somewhere in the
world every 10 seconds! These are worrisome figures, but the explosive increase
in the disease is more worrisome still. The prevalence of diabetes increased by
about 40 percent during 1990’s and rose by another eight percent in the year
2000, with the greatest increase occurring in children and adolescents. Every
projection indicates that it will continue to grow further in the future.
What is
Diabetes?
To
understand diabetes, you should first understand how your body handles glucose,
the sugar that fuels your metabolism. Diabetes is a common chronic disease that
can strike children at any age, including pre-school children and even
toddlers. Yet diabetes in children is
often diagnosed late, when the child has diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), or it is
misdiagnosed completely. In many parts of the world, insulin, the main
life-saving medication that children with diabetes need to survive, is not
available or is available but remains inaccessible for reasons of economy,
geography or constraints on supply. As a consequence, many children die of
diabetes, particularly in low- and middle income countries. Insulin is the
hormone that unlocks the door to your cells. If you produce enough insulin and
your cells respond normally, your blood sugar level drops as glucose enters the
cells. Insulin also helps your body turn amino acids into proteins and fatty
acids into body fat.
Diabetes has a unique impact on children and
their families. Diabetes can interfere with the normal developmental tasks of
childhood and adolescence, which include succeeding in school and transitioning
to adulthood. But diabetes can be prevented or its onset delayed. Early
diagnosis and early education are crucial to reducing complications and saving
lives. The healthcare community, educators, parents and guardians must join
forces to help children living with diabetes, prevent the condition in those at
risk, and avoid unnecessary death and disability. Diagnosing diabetes early is
important because prompt and aggressive treatment can help ward off the often
deadly complications of the disease.
Does it
matter?
It sure does matter. People with
diabetes are about twice as likely to develop heart disease as those without
diabetes. In addition, diabetes is a cause of kidney failure, loss of vision,
peripheral artery disease, blood vessel disease, leg amputation, extreme
tiredness or lack of energy, constant hunger, slow-healing wounds, extreme
thirst, unexplained weight loss, recurrent infections and cognitive impairment.
Diabetics also have a higher risk for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). All
in all, diabetes shortens life expectancy by about 13 years; no wonder it’s one
of the leading causes of death in many countries.
More abstracts about the Understanding Diabetes: World Diabetes Day focuses on children and adolescents