Diabetes

Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by elevated blood glucose (hyperglycemia). It is associated with an absolute or relative deficiency in the secretion and/or action of insulin. Raised blood glucose, a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes, may, over time, lead to serious damage to blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, nerves and increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.

There are three main forms of diabetes: type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is the most common, accounting for approximately 85% to 90% of all cases. It is related to modifiable risk factors such as obesity or overweight, physical inactivity, and high-calorie diets of low nutritional value.

Methabolic syndrome is characterized by the presence of prediabetes in conjunction with one other cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor (hypertension, upper body obesity or dyslipidemia).

In 2014, around 422 million adults aged over 18 years were living with diabetes worldwide, with 62 million (15.0%) of these population living in the Americas. The overall prevalence of raised blood glucose in the Americas has increased from 5.0% in 1980 to 8.3% in 2014 (8.6% males and 8.4 females). The increase on the prevalence of diabetes may be explained as a result of the population growth and ageing, the rise in age-specific prevalence’s or the interaction among these two aspects. Also, the associated risk factors such as overweight and obesity, together with insufficient physical activity, are estimated to cause a large proportion of the diabetes burden.