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Tamil Nadu
The risk factors for Type 1 diabetes have not been proven yet. It is thought that environmental triggers like viruses, toxins in the food chain and dietary components, may play a role. The most significant modifiable risk factor for Type 2 diabetes is being overweight or obese. Smoking doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease if you have diabetes. The most important non-modifiable risk factor is ethnicity, with Hispanics, Asians, Arabs, Africans, Pacific Islanders and indigenous (American, Canadian and Australian) populations at particular risk. Increasing age and a family history of diabetes also places you at greater risk. Diabetes and cardiovascular diseaseIf you have diabetes you are two to four times more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than people without diabetes. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality for people with diabetes since your risk of cardiovascular disease rises for a number of reasons as Hypertension, abnormal blood lipids and obesity, all risk factors in their own right for cardiovascular disease, occur more frequently in people with diabetes. Diabetes and heart diseaseUncontrolled diabetes causes damage to your body’s blood vessels making them more prone to damage from atherosclerosis and hypertension. People with diabetes develop atherosclerosis at a younger age and more severely than people without diabetes. Hypertension is at least twice as common in people with diabetes as in people with normal blood glucose levels. People with diabetes are more likely to a heart attack or stroke, than people who do not, and their prognosis is worse. If you have diabetes you can have a heart attack without realizing it. Diabetes can damage nerves as well as blood vessels so a heart attack can be ‘silent’, that is lacking the typical chest pain. Premenopausal women who have diabetes have an increased risk of heart disease because diabetes cancels out the protective effects estrogen. If you have diabetes you have a two- to three-fold greater risk of heart failure compared to people without diabetes. Diabetes and strokeIf you have diabetes and hypertension you are twice as likely to have a stroke than somebody with hypertension alone. Your risk of transient ischemic attacks is between two and six times higher than somebody who does not have diabetes. Diabetes and peripheral arterial diseaseDiabetes can damage the blood vessels and over time this puts people with diabetes at far greater risk of intermittent claudication and lower-limb amputation compared to the general population. Intermittent claudication occurs three times more often in men with diabetes and almost nine times more often in women with diabetes than in their counterparts without diabetes. Diabetes and KidneysDiabetes is known to affect the kidneys and that it is one of the leading causes for Kidney failure in India.If you have diabetes it is known that you are at a greater risk of developing nephropathy.Hypertension heralds this complication of diabetes. Prevention of nephropathy is achievable by any diabetic by keeping his blood sugar levels and blood pressure under proper control and by early detection of nephropathy by undergoing microalbuminuria test in urine. Diabetes and Nerves damageDiabetes causes nerves damage leading on to abnormal sensations in the limbs especially the feet like tingling, burning sensation, numb feeling, loss of sensation in feet causing failure on part of the patients to percieve any injury to the feet causing wounds in the feet resulting in long standing non healing ulcers and finally ending up in loss of limbs by amputation .As a matter of fact diabetes is the leading cause of non accidental causes of loss of limbs.Diabetics can assess their nervous system damage by simple tests like Monofilament and Biothesiometry and take appropriate precautionary measures like regular foot examination,proper foot care and footwear and thereby prevent amputations. Diabetes and Autonomic Nervous SystemPalpitaions, Giddiness, Abnormal excessive sweating or decreased sweat secretions, indigetsion, diarrhoea, constipation, lack of sensing low sugar symptoms in diabetics may signal that their autonomic nervous system is probably affected which can be easily diagnosed now by CANS test and further progression and complications may be prevented by appropriate treatment changes. Diabetes and EyesDiabetes is one of the leading causes for loss of vision in India.Blurring of vision,excessive watering in eyes,sudden loss of vision, eyes redness, eyes pain should prompt any diabetic to have any emergency eye check up and treatment as required .Cataractous changes in the lens,Retinal damage and Glaucoma are caused by diabetes.Regular annual eye and retinal examination for diabetics are essential to prevent such eye complications. Conquering Diabetes & Protecting yourself from diabetes complicationsIf you control your blood glucose you can reduce your risk of a cardiovascular disease event by 42% and the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death from cardiovascular disease by 57%.If you control your blood glucose levels you reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by between 33% to 50%.If you control your blood lipids you can reduce cardiovascular disease complications by 20% to 50%.Losing weight and maintaining a healthy diet will improve your diabetes status. If you have impaired glucose tolerance and lose weight, you can prevent the onset of diabetes. Stopping smoking will reduce your cardiovascular disease risk. Mantras for Conquering Diabetes and its ComplicationsBalanced and fibre rich Diet, Weight Reduction & Maintenance of BMI between 20 to 23 kg/m2, Regular Walking & Physical Activities [Brisk walking ~ 30 to 45 minutes /day for 5 days in a week], Stress Free Lifestyle [Yoga and meditations may ease out tension], Quit Smoking & Alcohol, Target Blood Pressure Checkup and maintain below 120/80 mm of Hg, Target Blood Sugar [Fasting < 100 and Post Prandial <140 mgs%] and Hb A1c [< 7 %], Target Lipids [Total Cholesterol<180 mgs% Triglycerides<150 mgs% LDL Cholesterol<100 mgs% HDL Cholesterol >50 mgs%], Annual Eye Examination, Annual Urine Microalbumin test for healthy kidneys, Daily foot examination and foot care, Regular medications intake as advised by your doctor without altering the dose of medicines by yourself and avoid over the counter medications
Dr. Ar. Sedhu Madhavan
Diabetologist,
Sedhu Nursing Home Puducherry
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