Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar. The three major types of diabetes include:

a) Type 1 diabetes – also known as insulin dependent or juvenile diabetes. It is characterized by deficient insulin production and requires daily administration of insulin. It is not preventable and the cause is unknown.

b) Type 2 diabetes – also known as non insulin dependent or adult onset diabetes. It is a result of the body’s ineffective use of insulin. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% of people with diabetes around the world and is usually caused by excessive body weight and physical inactivity.

c) Gestational diabetes – refers to elevated blood glucose levels (hyperglycemia) during pregnancy.

Approximately 347 million people worldwide have diabetes. Uncontrolled or poorly managed diabetes can cause disabilities and eventually death. Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, nerve damage (neuropathy), blindness (retinopathy), and kidney failure. WHO projects that diabetes will be the 7th leading cause of death by the year 2030. More than 80% of diabetes deaths occur in developing countries. In 2004, an estimated 3.4 million people died from complications of high blood glucose levels.

CAGISC is committed to reduce the burden of diabetes in high risk populations around the world by implementing the following: