Diabetes

Diabetes is the fastest growing chronic condition in Australia.

• Diabetes is more common in men than women.
• There are a number of complications that can arise from diabetes, including blindness, foot complications (sometimes resulting in amputation) kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease.
• One person develops diabetes every five minutes in Australia.

The chance of an individual being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is very low at 0.33%. However, the risk rises dramatically to 5% for individuals with a first-degree relative with Type 1 diabetes.

The story is much different when it comes to Type 2 diabetes (T2D).

• The risk that a man aged 20 years will develop T2D in his lifetime is 40% and for a woman aged 20 years, the risk is 39%.

Certain risk factors are closely linked with a chance of developing T2D.

• These include family history, age, overweight and obesity and gestational diabetes.

Complications from diabetes:

• Diabetes is the leading cause of preventable blindness and kidney failure in Australia.
• There are more than 4,400 amputations per year as a result of diabetes.

The risk of Cardio Vascular events and other complications is higher for people with diabetes.

• Heart attack – 3times as likely
• Stroke – 4 times as likely
• Kidney failure – 3 times as likely

There is no cure for diabetes, and as a result, the condition requires lifelong management.