The burden of type 2 diabetes: are we doing enough?

Abstract

Increasing levels of obesity, arising from energy-rich diets and sedentary lifestyles, are driving a global pandemic of type 2 diabetes. The prevalence of type 2 diabetes worldwide is set to increase from its present level of 150 million, to 225 million by the end of the decade and to as many as 300 million by 2025. Shocking as they are, these figures represent only clinically diagnosed diabetes, and many more cases of diabetes remain undiagnosed and untreated. In addition, up to one-quarter of western populations have impaired glucose tolerance or the dysmetabolic syndrome, which are considered to represent pre-diabetic states. Type 2 diabetes is appearing increasingly in children and adolescents, and the frequency of diagnosis of paediatric type 2 diabetes is outstripping that of type 1 diabetes in some areas. The long-term complications associated with type 2 diabetes carries a crushing burden of morbidity and mortality, and most type 2 diabetic patients die prematurely from a cardiovascular event. Diabetic patients are more than twice as costly to manage as non-diabetic patients, due mainly to the high costs associated with management of diabetic complications. Indeed, diabetes care already accounts for about 2-7% of the total national health care budgets of western European countries. Controlling the type 2 diabetes epidemic will require changes to the structure of healthcare delivery. Well-resourced interventions will be required, with effective co-ordination between all levels of government, health care agencies, multidisciplinary health care teams, professional organisations, and patient advocacy groups. Above all, intervention is needed today.

Neel revisited: the adipocyte, seasonality and type 2 diabetes

“…The world is currently in the midst of an epidemic of type 2 diabetes, and around 300 million individuals are predicted to develop this disorder by the year 2025 [1]. The close biological relationship between diabetes and cardiovascular disease has focused attention on the common genetic and environmental antecedents of these conditions-the common soil hypothesis [2]-but the pathophysiological basis of these associations remains obscure.…”

Surgical control of obesity and diabetes: The role of intestinal vs. gastric mechanisms in the regulation of body weight and glucose homeostasis

“…The twin epidemics of obesity and type 2 diabetes represent one of the greatest threats to global human health (1,2). Current treatment options including diet and pharmacotherapy can improve glycemia and induce moderate weight loss but do not achieve a cure.…”

Tea Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies

“…The number of diagnosed type 2 diabetes is predicted to reach approximately 366 million by the year 2030. 2,3 Increasing physical activity and modifying lifestyle have been proved to prevent or delay the incidence of type 2 diabetes. 4 It has been proposed that chronic oxidative stress as a underlying mechanism in the development of insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance, β-cell dysfunction, and type 2 diabetes.…”