World Diabetes Day 2022: What you need to know about the condition

Why 14 November as World Diabetes Day?

14 November was designated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) as World Diabetes Day in 2007, a day that started a global awareness campaign focusing on the disease. It was led by World Health Organization (WHO) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF) with a focused theme on type-2 diabetes, which is rapidly increasing in adults worldwide.

The day of 14 November was chosen as World Diabetes Day to commemorate the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, co-discoverer of Insulin along with Charles Best in 1922. This year's theme, ‘Access to Diabetes Education’, strengthens the larger multi-year theme of 'access to care'.

What is Diabetes and its types?

Diabetes is a non-communicable chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood glucose. It is also known as diabetes mellitus, and, if left untreated can cause many health complications. It can cause serious long-term complications like cardiovascular disease, stroke, chronic kidney disease, foot ulcers, damage to the nerves, damage to the eyes, and cognitive impairment.

As per the data of WHO, in 2014, 8.5% of adults aged 18 years and older had diabetes and in 2019, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths. And 48% of all deaths due to diabetes occurred before the age of 70 years.

There are twomain types of diabetes from which a person can be diagnosed:

Type 1 diabetes: It is characterised by a lack of insulin production in the body. According to WHO, in 2017 there were 9 million people with type 1 diabetes and the majority of them were from high-income countries. Neither its cause nor the means to prevent it are known yet.

Symptoms can include excessive excretion of urine, thirst, constant hunger, weight loss, vision changes, and fatigue. These symptoms may occur suddenly.

Type 2 diabetes: Formerly called non-insulin-dependent or adult-onset diabetes, is caused by the body’s ineffective use of insulin. It often results from excess body weight and physical inactivity. Earlier, this type of diabetes was seen only in adults but it is now also occurring frequently in children.

Symptoms may be similar to those of type 1 diabetes but are often less evident. As a result, the disease may be diagnosed several years after its onset, causing complications to rise to higher levels.

Foods to avoid on diabetes:

1. Sugar-sweetened beverages like soda, cola
2. White bread, rice and pasta
3. Fruit-flavoured yoghurt
4. Flavoured coffee drinks
5. Packaged snack food

Diagnosis and Treatment:

Early diagnosis can be accomplished through relatively inexpensive testing of blood glucose. Treatment of diabetes involves diet and physical activity along with lowering of blood glucose that damages blood vessels:

People with type 1 diabetes require insulin, and people with type 2 diabetes can be treated with oral medication, but may also require insulin, blood pressure control, and foot care (patient self-care by maintaining foot hygiene, wearing appropriate footwear, seeking professional care for ulcer management, and regular examination of feet by health professionals).

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