Diabetes Overview

Facts and Figures
Diabetes is reaching epidemic proportions. Worldwide, the number of cases is expected to double to 300 million in less than 25 years. Today, over 5 million people worldwide live with Type 1 diabetes (the more severe form of the disease), of which almost 395,000 are children. If left untreated, long-term complications of the disease can lead to heart failure, blindness, impotence, kidney failure, amputation, and in many cases death. Tight glycaemic control is central to good health, as proven by numerous studies, including the landmark Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT), which concluded in 1993.

European Region

• UK - Over 1.4 million adults are diagnosed with diabetes, and between 138,000 and 345,000 adults have Type 1 diabetes
• France - Over 1.6 million are affected, and more than 97,000 have Type 1 diabetes.
• Germany - 2.6 million are affected, and more than 197,000 have Type 1 diabetes.
• Italy - Over 3.1 million are affected, and more than 97,000 have Type 1 diabetes.
• Spain - Over 2 million are affected, and more than 96,000 have Type 1 diabetes.
• Netherlands - Over 415,000 are affected, and more than 41,000 have Type 1 diabetes.
• Sweden / Finland - Almost 730,000 are affected, and more than 90,000 have Type 1 diabetes.
• Poland - Over 1.5 million are affected, and more than 41,000 have Type 1 diabetes.
• Turkey - Over 1.8 million are affected, and more than 65,000 have Type 1 diabetes.

Diabetes Atlas 2000 (ages 20-79),
Diabetes in the United Kingdom - 1996, A British Diabetic Association Report

What is diabetes ?
Diabetes prevents the body from properly using energy from food. The condition occurs when the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone required to sustain life, or when the pancreas makes insulin, but the body resists it.

• Insulin, a hormone required to sustain life
  Insulin is a hormone produced by the Pancreas to aid accessing to the energy stored in the food. Largely this results from the ability of the body, under the influence of Insulin, to release sugar from the food intake, to store it and to use it, when needed, to drive our normal functions.
  

• The normal stability of blood sugar levels
  The normal metabolic process of releasing glucose from the food intake ensures that the amount of sugar in our blood remains within the region of 3.5 to 4.5 mmol/l(60-80 mg/100ml). Insulin levels rise when we have a meal in order to capture the sugar from the food intake. Insulin levels reduce after the processing of the food intake over a period of approximately 2 hours. During the rest of the day, an associated mechanism prevents blood sugar levels from falling below the normal levels by releasing glucose from the body storage areas in fat and tissues.

• The Diabetes disease
  Diabetes is a description of the condition where there is a mismatch between the food intake and the levels of production or utilisation of Insulin.
  • In Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas no longer produces insulin, an important hormone that helps metabolise glucose and supply energy to cells. A person with this condition must administer insulin using injections or an insulin pump.
  • Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder resulting from the body's inability to make enough, or properly use, insulin. Type 2 diabetes is often controlled by diet and exercise, oral medications and, in some cases, insulin. Research indicates that obesity and weight gain are associated with an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes. Insulin pumps have been successfully used to treat Type 2 patients requiring insulin and with poor glycaemic control.

Without an adequate availability of insulin, a person is unable to get energy from food or to keep glucose levels in balance. Poor glucose control can lead to acute complications from hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose) or hyperglycaemia (a condition associated with higher-than-normal blood glucose), which can lead to ketoacidosis, causing coma or death, if left untreated. Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney failure and amputation, and is a major factor in cardiovascular disease and nerve damage.