Diabetes

What is diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder that is characterised by the body making insufficient use of glucose. Glucose is a sugar that, when found in cells, acts as a source of energy for carrying out vital processes.

If the body is incapable of making use of it, instead of penetrating the cells it builds up in the blood, leading to an increase in the blood glucose level, known as hyperglycaemia.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires good metabolic control to prevent or reduce potential severe long-term complications, such as heart attack or stroke.

There are two types of diabetes that require medicinal treatment.

Type 1 Diabetes

This is an autoimmune disease that is characterised by a rise in blood sugar due to the pancreas failing to produce insulin. It usually occurs in children, adolescents and young adults. Type 1 diabetes represents 5-10% of all cases of diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes

This is a disease that is characterised by an increase in blood sugar due to the body failing to produce or being unable to use insulin. Unlike type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes begins during adulthood. It is the most common form of diabetes and represents 80-90% of total cases.

Diabetes in Catalonia

In Catalonia, 14 out of every 100 people suffer from diabetes, and it is estimated that there are around 600,000 cases.

Diabetes affects more than 8% of the population aged 15 and over, and 20% of the population aged 65 and over.

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Diabetes progression

One of the main problems with type 2 diabetes is that in the initial stages there are no observable symptoms, and it is therefore estimated that half of the people who suffer from type 2 diabetes are unaware of it.

Poor control of diabetes doubles the risk of death and vascular complications.
There are two main groups of complications depending on the type of arteries affected: