Skip to content

What is Diabetes?

Feature Topic
What is Diabetes?
What is Diabetes?
2022-11-01
What is Diabetes? What is Diabetes?


Introduction

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disorder characterised by a raised blood glucose level resulting from insulin deficiency, insulin resistance or both. There are three main types of diabetes: type 1 diabetes (little or no insulin is produced), type 2 diabetes (there is reduced insulin secretion and the body cells do not react to insulin), and gestational diabetes (a temporary condition in pregnancy). Diabetes increases the risk of cerebrovascular disease, heart diseases, foot gangrene, retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy.

Risk Factors

Some risk factors for diabetes include advancing age, obesity, family history of diabetes and lack of physical activity. Certain diseases such as cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome are also associated with increased risk of diabetes.

Symptoms

People with diabetes are often asymptomatic. They can be diagnosed by biochemical testing of fasting plasma glucose levels, two-hour plasma glucose levels during a 75 gram oral glucose tolerance test, or glycated haemoglobin during medical examination. As the disease develops, diabetes may present with symptoms or complications. Possible symptoms include thirst, excessive urination, increased appetite, weight loss, lethargy, poor wound healing and persistent or recurrent infections. Uncontrolled diabetes causes acute conditions such as severe dehydration and coma.

Prevention

To prevent diabetes, one should maintain an optimal body weight and waist circumference through a balanced diet, regular physical activity, refrain from alcohol consumption, and do not smoke. Diabetic patients should comply with medical advice and have their blood sugar under control to prevent complications.

Related Information

For more information on diabetes, please visit the website of the Hong Kong Reference Framework for Diabetes Care for Adults in Primary Care Settings (https://www.healthbureau.gov.hk/pho/rfs/english/reference_framework/diabetes_care.html).


More Information on Diabetes