Diabetes

The incidence of diabetes in the year 2000 in Malaysia was 8%, and in Singapore it was 10% of the population. With the modern lifestyle of inactivity, overweight and high glycemic index diets, the incidence is tending upwards.


1.1.WHAT IS DIABETES?

Diabetes is a condition in which the blood glucose level is too high. There are two types of diabetes.

Type 1 Diabetes is found in children. The problem is that the pancreas cannot produce enough insulin. Insulin injections are needed.

Type 2 Diabetes is also called non-insulin dependant diabetes mellitus and develops in adults. People develop this condition when their insulin does not work properly (insulin resistance). Risk factors for Type 2 Diabetes include being overweight, family history of diabetes, and lack of exercise. As this is the most common type of diabetes, most of this section will indirectly refer to type 2 diabetes.


Recently, new criteria have been accepted for the diagnosis of diabetes.9 The upper threshold of fasting plasma glucose for the diagnosis of diabetes has been lowered from 140 mg/dL to 126 mg/dL. The upper threshold for normoglycemia likewise has been reduced from <115 to <110 mg/dL. A fasting plasma glucose of 110 to 125 mg/dL is now designated IGF. These changes removed the need for oral glucose tolerance testing for diagnosis of diabetes; a diagnosis rests entirely on confirmed elevations of fasting plasma glucose.