Diabetes diagnosis crucial

TODAY is World Diabetes Day – and yet almost half of the millions affected may not even be aware they have the crippling lifestyle disease.

Professor Larry Distiller, founder of the Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology (CDE) in Johannesburg, this week said there were more than 3.5 million adults with diabetes in South Africa, roughly half of whom were undiagnosed.

The life-long condition is manageable if detected and treated early, but can be devastating if diagnosed late or not properly treated.

Heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, eye disease and blindness, nerve damage and amputations are only a few of the health problems that Dr Adri Kok, a specialist physician in Gauteng, sees.

But a person with type 2 diabetes may live with the illness for several years before the diagnosis is made.

"We estimate that most people with type 2 diabetes have had the condition for about seven years before they are diagnosed," Distiller said.

"However, during this time the increased blood sugar is already causing damage to the blood vessels, kidneys, eyes and nerves. "About one in three people already have these complications at diagnosis.

"For example, patients who have had a heart attack are frequently told that they also have diabetes.

"What has been missed is that they had the heart attack because they have diabetes!"

Kok said: "This is why it is so important to diagnose the condition as soon as possible.

"We need to reduce and control blood sugar urgently to help prevent the development of these new health problems.

"Furthermore, when we make the diagnosis early, with simple lifestyle changes, such as following healthy eating [and drinking] choices, losing weight and doing more physical activity, we can help slow down the development of some of these problems," she said.

The quantity of medication required can be reduced and in some cases, even avoided.

Distiller says if you are older than 40, overweight, inactive and if you have a family history of diabetes, you should have your blood sugar checked once a year.

All it takes is a finger-prick blood test that can be done at a pharmacy, community clinic or doctor's rooms.