Celebrating World Diabetes Day 2022!

Celebrating World Diabetes Day, 14th November 2022!

Diabetes is a serious medical condition that causes blood glucose (sugar) levels to become too high.  This can cause complications such as heart disease, stroke, kidney problems or nerve damage if not treated.

Although there is no cure for Diabetes, the condition can be controlled and monitored.

There are three main types of diabetes, type one, type two and gestational diabetes. The former two are lifelong and can cause life threatening complications if not monitored effectively.

Type one diabetes is when the body can’t make insulin, which is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction. In the UK, around 8% of the population have type one.

Type two diabetes is generally caused from lifestyle, when the pancreas doesn’t work properly and can’t keep your blood sugar levels from rising. Type two represents around 90% of people with diabetes in the UK.

Gestational diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a form of diabetes that appears in pregnancy, characterised by high blood sugar due to the hormones produced in pregnancy. In the UK, around 5% of pregnant women are diagnosed every year.

Globally, Diabetes affects more than 415 million people, with type 2 being the most common.

People with T1D have an estimated 50% risk of developing Chronic Kidney Disease over their lifetime. CKD can progress to kidney failure, requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant. Taking a personalized approach to kidney disease screening for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) may reduce the time that chronic kidney disease (CKD) goes undetected, according to a new analysis performed by the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications study group.

World Diabetes Day aims to increase visibility around the condition and can help sufferers feel less alone. Charities such as Diabetes UK also use the day to help promote awareness and information around the condition to help get people diagnosed earlier through campaigns such as #RewriteTheStory.