50 Interesting Facts about Diabetes
In this article we have compiled for you 50 the most interesting facts about diabetes.
1. The word “diabetes” is Greek for “siphon,” which describes the copious urine of unrestrained diabetes. “Mellitus” is Latin for “honey” or “sweet,” a name added when physicians found that the urine from individuals with diabetes is sweet with glucose.
2. Researchers anticipate that there may be 30 million new cases of diabetes in China alone by 2025.
3. Insulin was coined from the Latin insula (“island”) because the hormone is secreted by the Islets of Langerhans in the pancreas.
4. In 1889, Oskar Minkowski (1858-191931) found the link in between diabetes and the pancreas (pan – “all” + kreas – “flesh”) when a dog from which he got rid of the pancreas established diabetes.
5. Before the discovery of insulin, surgeons rarely run on diabetic patients with gangrene due to the fact that the patients typically would not heal and would undoubtedly die. On occasion, an area of gangrene would “auto-amputate,” indicating it would dry up and fall off.
6. Before the discovery of insulin in 1921, doctors would frequently put their patients on hunger or semi-starvation diets, recommending they eat just foods such as oatmeal.
7. In 1996, a 16-year-old woman with diabetes passed away at her home in Altoona, Pennsylvania, since her parents chose not to offer her with medication and count on prayer rather. Her parents were charged with manslaughter.
8. Some researchers have found links between the beginning of Type 1 diabetes and the contracting of a virus, especially the mumps or Coxsacki virus.
9. African-Americans and Hispanics have a much higher rate of Type 2 diabetes than whites. There are 74 cases per 1,000 for African-Americans, 61 cases for Hispanics, and 36 cases for whites.
10. The death rate among African-Americans with diabetes is 27% higher than amongst whites with diabetes. Factors include hereditary, socio-economic concerns, higher weight problems rates, and absence of offered medical insurance or insurance coverage.
11. Some research studies have indicated that people with diabetes are at much greater risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia than are non-diabetics, though the reasons are unknown.
12. There are around 86,000 lower-limb amputations on diabetics in the United States each year. Rates of amputation were higher among men than women and greater amongst African-Americans than whites. Professionals think almost half of all amputations might have been prevented with appropriate evaluations and education.
13. Approximately 90% of individuals with type 2 diabetes are overweight.
14. Diabetes has been reported in horses, ferrets, and ground squirrels. In environments where animals are freely fed, diabetes has actually been reported in dolphins, foxes, as well as a hippopotamus.
15. Though heart disease has actually dropped amongst non-diabetic women by 27%, it has really increased by 23% for women with diabetes.
16. Olympic swimmer Gary Hall Jr. has Type 1 diabetes. When he was diagnosed, his physician informed him to quit swimming. He changed medical professionals, continued training, and subsequently won a gold medal.
17. White children have a higher risk of developing Type 1 diabetes than children of other races, though the incidence of the disease differs significantly from nation to nation. Risk factors include being ill in early infancy, having an older mom, having a mom with Type 1 diabetes, having a mom who had preeclampsia during pregnancy, and having a high birth weight.
18. Approximately 11% of all Americans aged 65-74 have diabetes. About 20% of those over 75 years of ages have diabetes, and nearly half of them are unaware they have the disease.
19. Those with diabetes, particularly adolescent women with Type 1 diabetes, may be at increased risk of developing eating conditions. Some teen girls intentionally keep their insulin to reduce weight.
20. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), diabetes is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States.
21. People who have actually inherited other hereditary syndromes (Down’s syndrome, myotonic syndrome, Turner’s syndrome) are likewise at risk of establishing diabetes.
22. Diabetics have a greater risk of gingivitis than non-diabetics, which may result in bone and tooth loss. However, only about half of Hispanics with diabetes frequently visit a dental professional compared with 58% of African-Americans and 70% of non-Hispanic whites with diabetes.
23. Breathed in insulin is an emerging twenty-first century alternative for people with Type 1 diabetes. Companies are also dealing with an insulin tablet that can be provided under the tongue.
See also: Diabetes Statistics and Facts
24. People with diabetes are more vulnerable to complications of influenza and pneumonia and are six times more likely to be hospitalized for these problems than non-diabetics. Inning accordance with the Centers for Disease Control, 10,000-30,000 people with diabetes pass away each year from flu and pneumonia.
25. Professionals report that diabetes decreases life expectancy by five to 10 years.
26. Men have a greater risk of death from diabetes than women.
27. Scientists suggest that average glucose levels can be greater for diabetic women with menstrual difficulties. Additionally, girls with menstrual problems likewise had a greater rate of medical facility admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA).
28. Inning accordance with the Department of Veterans Affairs, diabetes is more widespread amongst military veterans than in the general population. Around 16% of military veterans (or about 500,000) have diabetes, compared with 6% of the general U.S. public.
29. Diabetes mellitus is a basic name that incorporates several types of diabetes, consisting of Type 1, Type 2, gestational, and variations such as maturity-onset diabetes in the young (MODY) and hidden autoimmune diabetes of their adult years (LADA). What they all have in common is the inability to self-regulate levels of blood sugar (cellular fuel) in the body.
30. Roughly 17 million U.S. residents have actually been detected with diabetes, which is nearly 10% of the approximated 170 million people struggling with diabetes worldwide.
31. Diabetes insipidus (water diabetes) is a condition entirely different from diabetes mellitus. Diabetes insipidus is defined by a problem with the kidneys in which the kidneys are not able to concentrate urine properly due to a shortage in the antidiuretic hormone (ADH).
32. Ancient physicians would test for diabetes by tasting the urine of a believed patient of diabetes. Sweet urine is high in glucose, recommending the presence of diabetes.
33. Certain illness — such as cystic fibrosis, pancreatitis, hemochromatosis, and Cushing’s syndrome — may cause pancreatic beta cell destruction that results in diabetes.
34. An approximated 16 million Americans have pre-diabetes, and many of them are uninformed of their condition.
35. Obese individuals are more prone to establish diabetes due to the fact that more fat needs more insulin, fat cells release free fatty acids which disrupt glucose metabolic process, and obese individuals have less available insulin receptors.
36. In women, diabetes impacts estrogen levels, menstrual and ovulation cycles, and sexual desire.
37. Cigarette smoking can increase diabetes risk by restricting blood vessels, raising high blood pressure, and stimulating the release of catecholamines (fight-or-flight hormones), which promote insulin resistance.
38. Gestational diabetes occurs in about 200,000 or 7% of U.S. pregnancies yearly.
39. Diabetes in the United States alone costs $200 billion every year. This figure includes direct medical costs, such as insulin, amputations, and hospitalizations as well as indirect costs, such as lost efficiency, early retirement, and disability.
40. Insulin in the 1920s was at first drawn out from the pancreas of a cow (bovine) or pig (porcine). Today’s insulins are developed in the laboratory, cultured from bacteria and yeast through recombinant DNA.
41. Scientists discovered that every two hours invested watching television was connected with a 14% boost in diabetes risk.
42. Twelve million men (11.2% of all men 20 years and older) and 11.5 million women (10.2% of all women 20 years and older) have diabetes in the U.S.
43. Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure, representing 44% of new cases in 2005.
44. About 60-70% of individuals with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nerve system damage.
45. Women with diabetes are most likely to establish vaginal infections than are non-diabetics because of their elevated glucose levels.
46. A Harvard study showed that eating one serving of prepared oatmeal two to 4 times a week was connected to a 16% decrease in the risk of establishing Type 2 diabetes. One serving 5 or 6 times a week was linked to a 39% reduction in risk.
47. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that diabetes has reached epidemic percentages and expects that 80% of all brand-new cases of diabetes will appear in developing countries by 2025.
48. India has the world’s greatest diabetes population with over 35 million people with diabetes. By 2025, this number is expected to swell to 70 million, implying every 5th diabetic in the world would be Indian.
49. The 5 nations with the greatest percentage of diabetes are Nauru, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
50. Diabetes is accountable for over one million amputations each year, a big percentage of cataracts, and at least 5% of blindness worldwide.
