In this article we will bust some myths of diabetes mellitus and answer some frequently asked questions about risk factors of diabetes mellitus.
Must read-Risk factors of diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes2020
1. What are contributing factors to diabetes/what are risk factors of diabetes mellitus?
- Various contributing factors for diabetes are obesity, sedentary lifestyle, decreased physical activity etc.
- These are the most important factors which can contribute to type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- Other factors responsible for diabetes are:
- positive family history
- patient who had high blood sugar during pregnancy
- PCOS, high blood pressure
- high cholesterol
- people from certain such as African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans
2. Why is diabetes a risk factor for stroke?
- Diabetes is one of the important risk factor for stroke.
- The reason for this is that in diabetes there is increased glucose in the blood which damages the walls of blood vessels.
- There also occurs thickening and stiffness of the blood vessels which can be due to decrease in the NO (nitric oxide).
- Diabetes also increases the risk of atherosclerosis which can lead to stroke.
3. Why is diabetes a risk factor for atherosclerosis?
- Diabetes is a risk factor for atherosclerosis.
- In the diabetes patient the increased blood sugar levels causes damage to the intimal layer of the blood vessels.
- There occur platelet adhesion at the site of damage which increases with time and causes thickening and narrowing of the blood vessels.
- Adhesion and aggregation of platelets results in the formation of plaque that is it causes atherosclerosis.
4. What are 3 risk factors for type 2 diabetes?
- The 3 main risk factors for diabetes mellitus are:
- positive family history of diabetes (it means that the patients either of the parents or both parents have diabetes or any of your sibling has diabetes)
- obesity.
- sedentary lifestyle.
5. How do you feel when your blood sugar is too high?
- In patient of diabetes due to some factors there can occur hyperglycemia or increased blood sugar levels.
- You should know that your blood sugar is high when u get following Symptoms :
- Increased thirst
- Increased frequency of urination
- Blurry vision
- Weakness and fatigue
- Excessive weight loss
6. What happens to your body when you have diabetes?
- Diabetes is a disorder in which the body is not able to not produce insulin .
- Insulin is an important hormone in of our body which help the cells to take up glucose to be used as fuel.
- Because there is reduced insulin, the body is not able to use glucose and therefore there is no fuel for the body.
7. The Effects of Diabetes on Your Body
- Diabetes is a chronics condition where in due to reduced serum insulin level the cells of the body cannot use the blood glucose which causes the blood sugar to rise.
- Because there is no sugar in the cells the cells undergo starvation.
- In severe cases can cause muscle problems.
8. How does diabetes affect the brain?
- Diabetes can affect brain in various ways.
- Mainly In diabetes the increased blood glucose damages the blood vessel and causes platelet aggregation which result in formation of plaque.
- In these patients the blood vessel can also stiff and narrowed.
- These 2 factors increases the risk of stroke.
- Due to alteration of the blood supply to the brain there is high tendancy for these patients to develop dementia.
9. Can diabetes mellitus be cured?
- No, diabetes cannot be cured.
- But the formation of complications in these patients can be slowed down by making changes in the diet, exercise, and by taking proper medications.
10. What is diabetic neuropathy?
- Neuropathy: in simple word neuropathy means nerve damage.
- When neuropathy occurs due to the diabetes it is called diabetic neuropathy.
- High amount of glucose damages the very small blood vessel which supplies blood to the nerves.
- As the blood supply to the nerves is cut off it causes damage to the nerves.
- Depending on which site the nerves are damaged there occurs the symptoms.
11. What is the risk factors for type 2 diabetes?
What Causes Type 2 Diabetes? Risk Factors, Lifestyle, and More
Factors that may increase your risk of type 2 diabetes include:
- OBESITY OR OVERWEIGHT
- SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE
- POSITIVE FAMILY HISTORY
- AGE 45 & ABOVE
- GESTATIONAL DIABETES
- PCOS
- HIGH BP
- HIGH LIPID PROFILE
- CERTAIN RACE
- ACANTHOSIS NIGRICANS
12. Is age a risk factor of diabetes mellitus?
- Yes age is a risk factor for diabetes.
- Risk of getting diabetes increase with increasing age.
- This is because as age advances the body losses muscle mass which may lead to reduction in exercise.
- There may also be weight gain in these patients making them more susceptible to get diabetes.
13. Can a healthy individual get diabetes?
Yes, any healthy individual can get diabetes.
This is because diabetes like type 1 diabetes occurs due to autoimmune destruction of beta cells of pancreas which produce insulin.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus occurs because of bad eating habits and sedentary lifestyle.
Must read-Risk factors of diabetes mellitus and gestational diabetes2020
14. Who is most at risk of diabetes?
- Diabetes can occur in any individual, but some people are at a higher risk of getting diabetes than others.
- Those who are at risk of diabetes are:
- Those people whose parents or siblings has diabetes
- Obese and overweight individual
- Individual with sedentary lifestyle with very less physical activity
- Females who had diabetes during pregnancy , or those females who has polycystic ovary syndrome
- Person belonging to certain race such as African Americans, Alaska native American Indians, Asian American, native Hawaiian etc.
- People with high blood pressure , high blood cholesterol levels.
- People more than 45years of age.
15. Why does diabetes affect the blood vessel?
- Increase in the blood glucose levels in the body can lead to activation and deactivation of various reactions in the body, result being increase in oxidative stress to the body.
- This result in increased production of free radicals.
- These free radicals react with the intimal layer of blood vessels causing damage to the vessels. On long term these vessels become thickened and narrowed.
- There can be increase in platelet adhesion at the damaged site which will then result in atherosclerosis.