Type 2 Diabetes – What You Need to Know

What Is Type 2 Diabetes?

Globally, type 2 diabetes affects 6% of the world’s population and is one of the greatest contributors to Australia’s burden of disease. It is a chronic disease of high blood sugar (glucose) due to insulin resistance. Your cells are resistant to the intake of glucose in response to insulin and your body gradually reduces its ability to produce normal levels of insulin. As a result, your blood glucose level is raised. Type 2 diabetes is also called adult onset diabetes because it mainly occurs in middle-aged people; this disease in children is sporadic. The condition is associated with modifiable risk factors.

What causes type 2 diabetes?

Diabetes has genetic factors. If you have a family history of diabetes you have a higher risk of developing the condition.

Modifiable risk factors are associated with the development of the condition. These include obesity, high blood pressure, insufficient physical activity, poor diet and excessive alcohol intake.

People are at a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes if they:

• have a family history of diabetes.
• are older (over 55 years of age ) – the risk increases as we age.
• are over 45 years of age and are overweight.
• are over 45 years of age and have high blood pressure.
• are over 35 years of age and are from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background.
• are over 35 years of age and are from Pacific Island, Indian subcontinent or Chinese cultural background.

What are the symptoms of type 2 diabetes?

Diabetes initially presents with vague symptoms, so many people may not know that they have diabetes despite having diabetes. The usual symptoms include fatigue or feeling of being worn out, frequent urination, blurred vision, a sense of being hungry, and increased thirst due to higher blood glucose. In long-standing diabetes, your immune system becomes weak, so there are frequent bacterial and viral infections and poor wound healing.

How to diagnose type 2 diabetes?

Your doctor will undertake a fasting blood glucose test. There are a number of follow-up blood tests to confirm the diagnosis.

Can type 2 diabetes be cured?

Although we don’t have a cure for diabetes, there have been successful cases of reversing the condition through better lifestyle choices that reduce body weight to target levels.

Reversing diabetes doesn’t mean you’ve cured the condition. Instead, it means that you can reach and maintain normal blood sugar levels without medication, which is also a huge success (5). But to maintain that reversed state, you need to continue to make good lifestyle choices and monitor your blood sugar regularly.

What is the treatment for type 2 diabetes?

Treatment options for type 2 diabetes include lifestyle changes including dietary precautions and medications.

• Lifestyle changes include exercise and diet changes. Exercises such as walking, cycling and running reduce your weight and increase the insulin sensitivity of the cells.
• Diet is significant in the management of diabetes; a balanced diet high in vegetables, moderate lean protein and low carbohydrate is recommended.
• The are important oral treatments for type 2 diabetes. Talk to your doctor about a diabetes management plan.
• Your General Practitioner will commence you on a management plan that includes the correct therapy, regular review with an endocrinologist and referral to a diabetes educator and dietician.

What other conditions should be treated along with diabetes?

Risk factors that must be managed with blood glucose are blood pressure and cholesterol level. Patients must stop smoking. A combination of diabetes, high blood pressure, higher blood cholesterol and smoking is lethal. It’s important to keep your risk factors under control.

What are long-term complications of diabetes?

The long-term complications of type 2 diabetes include:

• Increased risk of heart attack and stroke
• Increased risk of disease of your blood vessels, leading to amputation of limbs
• Blindness
• Kidney failure
• Psychological disturbances
• Blood vessel diseases
• Numbness and permanent nerve damage
• Long-standing foot ulcers
• Erectile dysfunction

Key Takeaway

Diabetes is a common chronic medical condition. It is an insidious disease often with mild symptoms. Control and even remission is achievable with modification of lifestyle factors, undertaking regular exercise and reducing body weight. Control is important to limit life-threatening complications of poorly controlled diabetes. With a good GP management plan, patients can get control of their disease and limit the risk of long term complications.