Diabetes And Mellitus

There has been an alarming rise in the incidence of Diabetes in India in the last few years making it the “Diabetes capital” of the world. Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic disease caused by inherited and /or acquired deficiency in production of insulin by the pancreas, or by the ineffectiveness of the insulin produced. Such a deficiency results in increased concentrations of glucose in the blood which in turn damage many of the body systems, in particular blood vessels and nerves.

The two main forms of Diabetes are:

Type 1: in which the pancreas fails to produce the insulin which is essential for survival. This form develops most frequently in children and adolescents.

Type 2: which results from the body’s inability to respond properly to the action of insulin produced by pancreas. It occurs most frequently in adults – MORE COMMONER type

Symptoms of Diabetes mainly include excessive thirst, weight loss, tiredness, excessive secretion of urine. The mainstay of management includes pharmacological treatment by Insulin or by oral hypoglycaemic agents and lifestyle modification. Uncontrolled Diabetes can lead to grave consequences including Diabetic retinopathy (decreased or loss of vision), kidney failure, Diabetic neuropathy (loss of sensation) and Diabetic foot ulceration (might lead to gangrene). Hence public and professional awareness of the risk factors and symptoms of Diabetes are an important step towards its prevention and control.

Common diagnostics tests include fasting and post prandial (meal) blood sugar, urine glucose, glycosylated haemoglobin HBA1c (most sensitive) and blood insulin level.