Diabetes Complications: Silent Threat to Heart, Kidneys, and Nerves

One out of every five diabetics in the country has issues affecting the body's small blood arteries, which might eventually lead to kidney failure, blindness, or serious nerve damage, according to an all-India study that monitored nearly 6,000 patients for three years. The study, published in the peer-reviewed medical journal 'Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism,' focused on diabetes care after a patient had been diagnosed and started on medication. "In real-world settings, we found people couldn't achieve the level of control they wanted and, hence, complications related to diabetes were high," said Dr. Shalini Menon, one of the authors of the study.

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What is Diabetes?

Diabetes, a chronic health disorder that affects how the body converts food into energy, has been linked to problems with the heart, nerves, kidneys, eyes, and feet, among other organs. The study, which was funded by a pharmaceutical company, discovered that the patient pool had additional health issues aside from diabetes - over 60% were obese, 80% had hypertension, and six out of ten had high cholesterol levels, indicating a higher risk of heart attacks.

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Link Between Elevated A1C Test Results and Deaths Due to Cardiovascular Diseases

"The study recorded 54 deaths due to cardiovascular disease in these three years," said the doctor. Dr. Shashank Joshi, senior endocrinologist and study author, stated that the study's key finding was the bad A1c test findings. The A1c blood test assesses a person's average blood sugar levels over the previous three months. "There seems to be some inertia in hitting hard and hitting early," he said, pointing to poor medicine schedules. "The study recorded 54 deaths due to cardiovascular disease in these three years," said the doctor.

The bad A1c test results, according to Dr. Shashank Joshi, senior endocrinologist and study author, were the study's primary discovery. The A1c blood test measures a person's three-month average blood sugar levels.

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Complications of Uncontrolled Diabetes

Non-fatal myocardial infarction, or heart attacks, were observed in 40% of patients, according to Dr. Joshi, with neuropathy being the most prevalent consequence. The underlying problem with diabetes, according to Dr. Tushar Bandgar, chief of the endocrinology department at KEM Hospital in Parel, who was not involved in the study, was changing lifestyles and ineffective preventative methods.

"The number of diabetes cases in the country is only increasing. This reflects the fact that we are not doing enough on prevention," he said. "If there are more cases of diabetes, there are bound to be more complications. It is not as if there are not adequate drugs. It is just a matter of poor control and prevention," he said.

Prevalence of Diabetes in India

Diabetes used to afflict only 3% of the population, but it now affects about 9% of India's adult population (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Evaluation of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation-Indian Diabetes Risk Score in detecting undiagnosed diabetes in the Indian population: Results from the Indian Council of Medical Research-INdia DIABetes population-based study (INDIAB-15)

Go to source). "People are eating more and have picked up addictions such as tobacco or alcohol," he went on to say.

Dr. Joshi stated that diabetics must not only have their eyes and heart function checked once a year, but they must also have albumin in urine and lipid levels checked every three months. "People also need to exercise, diet and sleep adequately," he added.

References:

1. Evaluation of Madras Diabetes Research Foundation-Indian Diabetes Risk Score in detecting undiagnosed diabetes in the Indian population: Results from the Indian Council of Medical Research-INdia DIABetes population-based study (INDIAB-15)- (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37282387/)