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Metabo Project

Diabetes Trends

Diabetes Mellitus is a chronic metabolic disturbance that has no cure. It is characterized by increased blood glucose concentrations and decreased insulin secretion and/or action.

All these clinical manifestations of diabetes are linked to a poor glycemic control, and the risk of developing several of these chronic complications of the disease can be greatly reduced by restoring normal or near-normal blood glucose levels. However, the intensive use of glucose lowering medications (especially insulin) aiming to optimal metabolic control leads to a significant increase in episodes of hypoglycemia.

When blood glucose falls too much or too quickly, acute neurological defects can appear such as cognitive dysfunction, de-coordination, memory loss, seizures, and sudden loss of consciousness (coma). In some patients, hypoglycemia occurs without preliminary symptoms and neurological defects can appear abruptly, further increasing the risk of car accidents or work-related injuries.

The presence of these risks limits the possibility of pushing the treatment to an adequate level and therefore medical efforts to reduce diabetes-related complications through optimal metabolic control are partially frustrated by the problems encountered with the intensive use of medications.

• Diabetes has become a worldwide epidemic, with increasing costs for health and welfare system and for the community.
• It affects approximately a 5% of population in developed countries (150 millions persons currently and 300 in 2025). High percentage of sick people is still without diagnosis.
• There is increase of diabetes incidence worldwide and forecast of growth of sick population in the following decades.
• The chances to become diabetic doubles every ten years of life and every 20% overweight.
• Diabetes exerts its greatest adverse impact throughout the vascular system having consequences in small vessel diseases leading to macrovascular diseases.
• Presence of diabetes increases 2–4 fold risk for cardiovascular diseases (both in men and women) and is associated with long term chronic complications leading to blindness, renal failure (1st cause of dialysis worldwide), and foot ulceration with risk of limb amputation.
• There is complex interaction among genetic and environmental factors.