Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease, characterized by a set of metabolic disorders, in which the main element is hyperglycemia (high blood glucose concentrations).
Diabetes Mellitus fulfills the necessary premises to be considered a disease of the first magnitude:
– It has a very high prevalence.
It affects approximately 370 million people in the world and the estimated figures for the coming decades are devastating; there is talk of a true pandemic.
In Spain, the estimated prevalence according to the Di@bet Study is 13.6% of the population and 26% have some type of disorder related to carbohydrate metabolism.
– It determines numerous complications.
Microvascular complications (specific to DM):
– Diabetic retinopathy ( 1st cause of blindness ).
– Diabetic nephropathy (1st cause of end-stage renal failure and dialysis).
– Diabetic neuropathy (1st cause of non-traumatic amputation).
And macrovascular complications (in which, in addition to DM, many other factors intervene and which are frequently associated with DM) and which are the complications from which diabetic patients usually die:
– Ischemic heart disease (myocardial infarction).
– Cerebrovascular disease (congestion).
– Peripheral arteriopathy (circulation of the lower limbs).
– Generates high social and health costs. DM represents more than 8% of direct health expenditure in Spain.
Types of diabetes mellitus
Roughly speaking, we can say that there are 2 types of DM:
– Type 1 DM, determined by an autoimmune inflammatory process destructive of insulin-producing pancreatic cells. It generally appears in infantile-juvenile age and the most relevant fact is that the patient needs insulin to live; and
– Type 2 DM, (more than 90% of DM) in which the predominant factor is insulin resistance, there is a clear genetic factor and age, obesity, sedentary lifestyle and poor hygienic-dietary habits play a fundamental role. It generally appears in adulthood. It is usually treated with oral antidiabetic drugs, although over time many patients end up requiring insulin to achieve adequate metabolic control.
It is a normally silent disease, but it causes enormous damage without the patient being aware of it, as described above. It is only when exaggerated blood glucose levels are reached that the typical symptoms appear: polyuria (urinating a lot), polydipsia (drinking a lot), tiredness and weight loss.
Treatment of types of diabetes mellitus
The treatment of type 1 DM is with insulin and type 2 DM is initially with oral drugs, although with time many patients end up needing insulin.
Type 2 DM, which is the most prevalent and is associated with obesity, sedentary lifestyle and poor hygienic-dietary habits, characteristic of developed countries, can be prevented and even cured by acquiring healthy lifestyle habits, which include the avoidance of excess weight, through a varied and balanced diet and regular physical exercise.