The ravages of diabetes: diabetes is associated with an increased risk for a number of serious, sometimes life-threatening complications, and African-Americans experience an even greater threat. Good diabetes management can help reduce risk

Heart disease and stroke

Heart disease and stroke account for about 65 percent of deaths in people with diabetes. In women with diabetes, deaths from heart disease have increased 23 percent over the past 30 years compared to a 27 percent decrease in women without diabetes.

Blindness

Blacks are almost 50 percent as likely to develop diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness, as Whites.

Kidney disease

Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure. In 2002, 44,400 people with diabetes began treatment for end-stage renal disease. Blacks are 2.6 to 5.6 times as likely to suffer from kidney disease, with more than 4,000 new cases of end-stage renal disease each year.

Nervouse system disease

Diabetes affects sensation in the feet or hands, slows digestion of food, causes carpal tunnel syndrome and other nerve problems. Severe forms of diabetic nerve disease are a major contributing cause of lower-extremity amputations.

Amputation

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the likelihood of losing a foot or leg by amputation is 15-40 times higher in people living with diabetes than in those without the disease. That's because diabetes can damage the circulatory and nervous systems, particularly in the lower limbs, and can lead to foot ulcers, loss of sensation in the feet and, ultimately, infections and dead tissue.

Dental disease

Periodontal (gum) disease is more common in people with diabetes. Among young adults, those with diabetes have about twice the risk of those without diabetes. Almost one-third of people with diabetes have severe periodontal disease, with loss of attachment of the gums to the teeth measuring 5 millimeters or more.

complications of pregnancy

Poorly controlled diabetes before conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy can cause major birth defects in 5 percent to 10 percent of pregnancies and spontaneous abortions in 15 percent to 20 percent of pregnancies. During the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, excessively large babies can pose a risk to both mother and child.

Sexual dysfunction

Men with diabetes are two times as likely to experience erectile dysfunction as men without diabetes. Women with type 1 diabetes are twice as likely to experience prevalence of sexual dysfunction compared with women without diabetes.

Other complications

The disease can lead to biochemical imbalances that can cause acute life-threatening events, such as diabetic ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar nonketotic (a type of diabetic) coma. People with diabetes are more susceptible to many other illnesses and, once they acquire these illnesses, often have worse prognoses. For example, they are more likely to die with pneumonia or influenza than people who do not have diabetes.

Source: American Diabetes Association

What's New?

With more options to fit medical and lifestyle needs, new technologies--and a new class of drugs--offer diabetics a better chance to control the disease. New blood-glucose monitoring systems have been introduced with meters that automatically calibrate and compartments that store multiple discs, allowing users to test multiple times without handling individual strips.

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The Prodigy Voice is the first totally audible "talking" blood-glucose monitoring system. Small enough to fit into your pocket, yet powerful enough to give you total independence, the Prodigy Voice features a totally audible set-up, step-by-step audible testing and audible results that will allow you to "hear" test results in just 6 seconds.

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Byetta is the world's first type 2 diabetes treatment in a new class of drugs known as incretin mimetics. Taken as prescribed by a doctor, Byetta is approved by the FDA for use by people with type 2 diabetes who are unsuccessful at controlling their blood-sugar levels. It is an add-on therapy for people using metformin.

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The Breeze 2 blood-glucose monitoring system uses a 10-test disc system, allowing users to test 10 times without handling individual strips. It features no coding technology and is a deal for people with limited dexterity because of arthritis. Its easy-to-use single-function buttons simplify set-up and improve confidence in results, as the meter automatically calibrates with each new set of test strips. The system earned the Ease-of-Use Commendation from the Arthritis Foundation.

HumaPen Memoir is a new insulin-delivery device for use with Humalog, the most-prescribed mealtime insulin in the United States. Launched by Eli Lilly and Company, the new, reusable pen is intended to provide patients with more options to fit their medical and lifestyle needs. Unlike traditional insulin pens or vial and syringe, the Memoir resembles a writing pen, not a medical instrument. This enables the potential for more discreet injections in public.

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COPYRIGHT 2008 Johnson Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning