In the past 30 years, with the rapid development of China's economy, westernization of lifestyles and aging of the population, the obesity rate has risen, and the prevalence of diabetes in China has shown a rapid growth trend.
The prevalence of diabetes increases, and with it comes the various hazards of diabetes. Some people say that diabetes itself is not terrible, in fact, this view is very wrong, diabetes is an endocrine disease caused by high blood sugar, the harm of diabetes is not only a variety of physical discomfort caused by elevated blood sugar, but also a variety of complications that accompany it.
There are three main complications of diabetes: acute severe metabolic disorders, infectious diseases, and chronic complications.
Diabetic ketoacidosis is the most common diabetic emergency and is a type of acute metabolic disorder, with hyperglycemia, ketosis, and acidosis as the main manifestations. These manifestations are mainly due to the three major metabolic disorders caused by insulin deficiency when diabetes is aggravated, not only the blood sugar is significantly increased, but also the lipolysis is increased, fatty acids are β oxidized in the liver to produce a large amount of acetyl-CoA, due to glucose metabolism disorders, insufficient oxaloacetic acid, acetyl-CoA can not enter the tricarboxylic acid cycle oxidation function and shrink into ketone bodies. At the same time, due to the decrease in protein synthesis and increased decomposition, the sugar-forming and ketogenic amino acids in the blood are increased, and the blood glucose and blood ketones are further increased.
Because the disease is often delayed in diagnosis and lacks reasonable management, the resulting deaths are also common.
Another clinical symptom of acute metabolic disorders is hypertonic hyperglycemia syndrome, which is characterized by severe hyperglycemia, hyperpurulone, dehydration, no significant ketonosis, and patients may have varying degrees of confusion or coma (
In addition to metabolic disorders, diabetes is also prone to complications of various infections, especially in people with poor blood sugar control. Among them, the most recurrent ones are pyelonephritis, cystitis (more common in women), and skin purulent infections such as scabies and carbuncles. Fungal skin infections such as tinea pedis and tinea corynes are also common. There is also fungal vaginitis and pasteuritis common in women.
Chronic complications of diabetes can affect vital organs throughout the body, and can occur alone or in different combinations at the same time or sequentially.
Microangiopathy is one of the chronic complications of diabetes mellitus, mainly manifesting in retinal, renal, nervous and myocardial tissues. Diabetic nephropathy is an important type of chronic kidney disease, a common cause of end-stage renal failure, and the main cause of death of type 1 diabetes, in which type 2 diabetes is second only to cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases in severity. Common in patients with a medical history of more than 10 years.
Another type of microangiopathy is diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to blindness in patients if they are severe.
Macrovascular disease is also a chronic complication of diabetes, mainly manifested as atherosclerosis, mainly invading the aorta, coronary arteries, cerebral arteries, renal arteries and limb arteries, causing coronary heart disease, ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular disease, renal arteriosclerosis, limb arteriosclerosis and so on.
The neurological lesions caused by diabetes mainly include ischemic stroke, accelerated brain aging and Alzheimer's disease.
In addition, diabetes can also lead to diabetic feet, which is also the main cause of traumatic amputation caused by diabetes. Diabetic foot refers to foot ulcers, infections, and/or deep tissue destruction associated with distal nerve abnormalities of the lower extremities and varying degrees of peripheral vascular lesions, and is one of the most serious and most expensive chronic complications of diabetes. Mild cases present with foot deformities, dry and chilled skin, callosum (high-risk feet), and in severe cases, foot ulcers and gangrene may occur.
The reason why diabetes has become one of the three major diseases in the world that threaten human health and life in contemporary times is directly related to the various serious complications it brings. Only by recognizing the seriousness of these complications can patients more consciously control blood sugar levels and healthy people can stay away from diabetes.
bibliography:
Ge Junbo, Xu Yongjian, et al., Internal Medicine, 8th Edition, People's Medical Publishing House, 2013, P733, P738, P739.