Diabetes

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects how your body uses glucose, a type of sugar. It is a condition that occurs when your blood sugar (glucose) is too high. It develops when your pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin or any at all, or when your body isn’t responding to the effects of insulin properly. There are several types of diabetes, with Type 2 being the most common. Type 2 diabetes mainly affects adults but can also occur in children. Other types include Type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune disease, and gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy.

THE SILENT KILLER

It is the second deadliest disease in South Africa, claiming more lives than HIV, hypertension, and other forms of heart disease combined. One in every three adults (13 million) in South Africa has impaired fasting glucose, putting them at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke, and amputation of lower limbs.

It is often referred to as a "silent killer" because it rarely shows symptoms or visible signs, making it difficult for individuals to know they have it. However, when symptoms do occur, they may include increased hunger, increased thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, blurred vision, unexplained weight loss, and sores that do not heal.

Diabetes is influenced by several risk factors. These include high salt intake, smoking, obesity, lack of physical activity, and stress. Long-term exposure to these behavioural risk factors can result in raised blood pressure (hypertension), raised blood sugar (diabetes), raised and abnormal blood lipids (dyslipidaemia), and obesity.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), risk factors for diabetes depend on the type of diabetes.

TYPE 1 Diabetes: For Type 1 diabetes, known risk factors include family history and age. Type 1 diabetes usually develops in children, teens, or young adults.

TYPE 2 Diabetes: For Type 2 diabetes, risk factors include having prediabetes, being overweight, being 45 or older, having a parent, brother, or sister with type 2 diabetes, being physically active less than three times a week, and having had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) or given birth to a baby who weighed over 4 kilograms.

Additionally, certain racial and ethnic groups, Indian/Asian population group has the highest age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) for diabetes, followed by the Coloured and Black African population groups1. The White population group has the lowest ASMR for diabetes.

How can SSISA help?

Managing diabetes effectively involves a combination of lifestyle changes that include healthy eating, regular physical activity, regular health check-ups and monitoring blood sugar levels. Below are a list of services and healthcare providers at the Institute that can assist: