STA, 14 November 2019 - Cardiovascular complications in diabetics are at the centre of this year's World Diabetes Day. In Slovenia, some 175,000 people are diabetic, but 15-25% of them do not even know they are sick. Early detection is key and family members can be of great help in this respect, however, only about 20% of Slovenians recognise the symptoms.
Robert Gratton, the president of the Association of Diabetics' Clubs of Slovenia, said at a press conference on Thursday that a healthy lifestyle within the family could be a great encouragement for diabetics and can also greatly contribute to disease prevention in the first place.
Untreated diabetes leaves patients with severe consequences and eight people die every second around the world from the consequences of diabetes complications.
Cardiovascular disease accounts for as many as two-thirds of deaths in diabetics, whereas 70% of heart attack patients are either diabetic or pre-diabetic, said Zlatko Fras, the medical director of UKC Ljubljana's internal medicine clinic.
Andrej Janež, the head of the endocrinology, diabetes and metabolic illness ward believes that tight cooperation between cardiologists and endocrinologists is a must because the right combination of drugs can substantially change the course of the illness.
Tadej Battelino, the head of the endocrinology, diabetes and metabolic disease ward at the Ljubljana children's hospital, was critical that Slovenia is lagging behind other countries in subcutaneous glucose monitoring.
Illustrating the effects of this approach, Battelino said Belgium gave these monitors to all diabetics in the country and despite the cost of the monitors, the country still saved some EUR 300,000 annually because there were fewer complications such as cardiovascular disease, amputations and dialysis.
He also underlined that modern drugs must become accessible to patients as soon as possible. They are expensive, but complications are even more expensive, he said.
There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 usually occurs during childhood or adolescence when the pancreas no longer produces insulin, a key hormone in glucose metabolism.
Type 2 diabetes occurs later in life due to unhealthy lifestyle that leads to reduced insulin sensitivity of cells. This sends the pancreas into overdrive to produce ever more insulin. Ultimately, pancreas is longer able to produce insulin at all.
Overweight is the main single reason for type 2 diabetes, as well as cardiovascular disease. Data for 2016 show that 19% of adults in Slovenia are obese, while 58% are overweight.
World Diabetes Day is observed on 14 November, the birthday of Frederick Banting who, alongside Charles Best, developed the idea that led to the discovery of insulin in 1921.
