Diabetes Issues
Today diabetes has been classified by the World Health Organisation as a global pandemic,
given its rapid progression and high death toll.
Diabetes now affects just over
537 million
adults worldwide.
Diabetes cases are expected to reach :
643 million cases in 2030
and 784 million by 2045
Simply speaking we can consider that there are three forms of diabetes:
Type 1
Diabetes
(T1D) which accounts for about 10% of total diabetes cases (20% of cases are in North America and 27% in Europe).
Type 2
Diabetes
(T2D) which accounts for the overwhelming majority of cases.
GESTATIONAL
DIABETES
Which affects about 6-8% of women during pregnancy; this form is reversible but can make a comeback a few years later as T2D.
One of the features of diabetes is chronic hyperglycemia which corresponds to a high level of sugar in the blood (blood sugar). Blood sugar levels increase particularly during meals, so the pancreas starts to secrete insulin enabling the organism’s cells to use these glucids as a source of energy. Simply speaking this means that the diabetic patient’s cells are no longer able to use glucids, either because they are no longer sensitive to insulin (Type 2 diabetes), or because the patient is no longer secreting insulin (Type 1 diabetes).
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease caused by the destruction of the endocrine cells of the pancreas whose role is to secrete insulin. Appearing mostly at the end of adolescence, the diagnosis is often established during a hospitalization following high hyperglycemia levels having led to massive glycosuria and ketoacidosis. In the weeks and months following the diagnosis, this disease will result in a real shock wave that will drastically modify the patient’s way of life and that of his entourage. From then on, the new diabetic patient will have to learn to adapt his daily routine to insulin treatments and its different modes of administration.
The management of diabetic patients has developed considerably over the last 30 years, and new automated devices have appeared on the market. These devices significantly improve the quality of life of patients (continuous glucose sensors, insulin pumps, artificial pancreas, etc.). Nevertheless, diabetes remains very difficult to manage on a daily basis and requires constant self-monitoring in order to maintain a satisfactory blood sugar balance.
Despite the range of different therapeutics available to patients, the therapeutic balance is extremely complicated not only to achieve but also to maintain day after day.
When glycemia is too high, it can cause the majority of diabetes-related complications (retinopathies, vascular diseases, nephropathies…).
