Azernews.Az

By Amina Nazarli

Diabetes, an old disease characterized by elevated levels of blood glucose or blood sugar, poses a new challenge to the human well-being, affecting some 415 million in the world, according to the International Diabetes Federation.

The disease triggered by factors such as sedentary lifestyle, fast food and sugary drinks, and the series of other reasons now threaten some 210,000 people in Azerbaijan.

A staggering 350 million people live with type 2 diabetes worldwide, according to BBC, and about 90 percent of diabetics in Azerbaijan suffer from this type, the noninsulin-dependent diabetes.

The prevalence of chronic, noncommunicable diseases is increasing at an alarming rate throughout the globe and Azerbaijan is not an exception, as the number of patients rose to about 8 percent from 2014.

The country’s chief endocrinologist Rafig Mammadhasanov told Trend that the number of diabetics is growing globally.

“The most significant increase with diabetes is observed in the U.S., since there is a great number of fat people in the States,” he said.

Mammadhasanov noted most of diabetics in the country are people over 40 years old, with type 2 diabetes in the main. Type 1 diabetes are mainly observed in children and young adults. This type of diabetics are reported relatively less in the country and their number did not increase in 2015.

The number of children registered with diabetes under 18 years old reaches 1,500 in Azerbaijan, and most of them are teenagers aged 14 and over.

The chief endocrinologist added that some 10-15 of 100 diabetics in the world are insulin dependent.

He claims that type 1 diabetes, who cannot make a hormone called insulin, need regular insulin treatment to keep the glucose levels normal, while special diet and meal plan can make all the difference to type 2 diabetes struggling to keep blood sugar under control.

Babies do not suffer from diabetes at birth, the doctor stressed. However, he or she may be prone to this disease if his/her parents suffer from diabetes.

“Certain circumstances, for example, stress, is able to awake the disease in the child. If parents with diabetes should know that they can pass these genes to their child. During the regular medical examination before marriage the will-be couples are informed about the possible consequences,” he said.

Diabetes has consequences, but life expectancy will not reduce if to manage the disease carefully, Mammadhasanov explains.

“Since the patients are provided with the quality drugs, the number of unpleasant cases has dropped significantly. Earlier, the insulin was made from oxen and pigs’ insulin, which were quite different from the human one. But, up-to-date insulin is analogs of human insulin,” he noted.

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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

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