The silent killer that is diabetes: Part 1
By: Mr. Mohamed Mohamoud Hiirad
(BCS, BSPH, MPH)
According to Prof. Andrew Marcel Otim, a consultant at Nakasero Hospital and Kampala Diabetes Center, anyone is a potential candidate of diabetes because of the changing eating and behaviors.
More refined foods, lack of exercise and work, have pre-disposed many to increase body mass index (BMI) leading to obesity. Experts saying this will lead to the accumulation of the fats which results in production of substances that interfere with normal function of insulin.
The body then becomes resistant to insulin leading to an abnormal absorption of food into the body cells after digestion; insulin resistance causes the accumulation of sugar in the blood, which eventually results in diabetes.
“Diabetes is therefore a disease characterized by an increase in the level of blood sugar above normal, it occurs when blood sugar is higher than normal and above 7mmol/1 (12mg/dl)” says Prof Otim
Types of Diabetes
The commonest type of diabetes is the type II called the adult onset, it is common among people above 30 years but it is increasingly becoming noticeable among younger people as a result of obesity and physical inactivity. It occurs when the pancreas fails to produce enough or produces ineffective insulin.
Type1 diabetes, which is the other type of diabetes, occurs when the pancreas fail to produce any insulin due to the destruction of pancreas cells, it usually occurs among younger people below 16 years.
Among women it is increasingly becoming normal to suffer gestational diabetes, which is common among pregnant women, it usually occur during the 24th week of pregnancy or afterwards resulting from hormonal imbalance and the imbalance might be a result of stress during pregnancy , however, this type of diabetes clears although sometimes it persists among some women even after delivery.
Administering insulin to a patient is one of the best ways to manage diabetes
Causes of Diabetes
Diabetes can also be caused by other aspects including tuberculosis, cancer, alcohol, Smoking and poor feeding Such diseases affect the pancreas leading to the destruction of beta cells that produce insulin.
According to William Lumu, a diabetologist at Mengo Hospital and president of Uganda Diabetes Association, symptoms of diabetes can be detected through increased volume and frequency of urination, intense thirst, involuntary weight loss and blurred vision among others.
“However, in some individuals, these symptoms are absent. It is thus better to see a doctor rather than wait for symptoms,” he says
Health effects of diabetes
Therefore, the health effects and consequences of diabetes include the effects of Nerves, small and big blood vessels leading to sight defects and blindness, kidney disease heart disease, amputations of lower limp loss, impotence, dyspepsia, stroke, and nerve dysfunction.
NB: this is part I, other parties are coming with different important information so please with me. Thanks for your getting this important health matter.
By: Mr. Mohamed Mohamoud Hiirad
(BCS, BSPH, MPH)
MPH, Bugema University Uganda
About The Author
