Very worrying: a steep jump in the number of diabetics

by time news

According to data published by the Ministry of Health on the occasion of International Diabetes Day, there has been a fourfold jump in the number of diabetics in the world: from 108 million, to 451 million patients. According to Ministry of Health forecasts, the number of patients is expected to rise to 578 million by the end of the decade. In relation to their proportion in the population, the number of patients has doubled in the last three decades.

About half a million diabetics live in Israel, and according to an estimated, hundreds of thousands more are in a pre-diabetic state without knowing about the developing disease.

Diabetes causes severe morbidity, disability and even mortality. The disease is gaining momentum due to several factors that increase the risk of developing the disease such as: poor eating habits, lack of exercise and obesity.

The disease is divided into 2 types: Adult diabetes – and juvenile diabetes: Juvenile diabetes is more dangerous and even causes destruction of the pancreas and as a result the body has stopped producing insulin. Adolescents with juvenile diabetes are forced to avoid uncontrolled sugar intake and if necessary even inject insulin into their body to stabilize their blood sugar levels.

In contrast, in ‘type 2 diabetes’, which is defined as adult-onset diabetes, the body still produces insulin but in a smaller amount, and it can be overcome by swallowing pills, or in milder cases even on a strict diet. Juvenile diabetes is genetic, however there are other factors that can cause the disease to break out. For example, children who do not breastfeed in the first months of life may be at increased risk of developing the disease.

Unlike in the past where children with juvenile diabetes had to inject themselves with many injections, today they use an ‘artificial pancreas’ – a device that checks the sugar levels in the body at every moment and injects insulin into the body if necessary.

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