Expert Shares What Men Need to Know About Type 2 Diabetes – Baptist Health South Florida

Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, a hormone that regulates blood sugar, or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.

Type 2 diabetes, once known as non-insulin dependentdiabetesor adult-onset diabetes, is the most common form of diabetes, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The number of people worldwide with diabetes nearly quadrupled from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014, and it continues to grow.

In the U.S. alone, the prevalence of diabetes has risen dramatically and, today, more than 34 million people have the disease. One of the biggest increases in recent years has been among men, the CDC says. Of the 13 million U.S. men with diabetes, roughly 95 percent have type 2 diabetes.

Unlike people withtype 1 diabetes, people withtype 2 diabetesmake insulin, says Sol Harari, M.D., a family medicine physician with Baptist Health Primary Care. But its not enough, or their body doesnt recognize theinsulinand use it the way it should. This is called insulin resistance.

Although it is far more common than type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes is less well understood, according to Dr. Harari, and is probably caused by the confluence of several things and not one single problem. Type 2 diabetes can run in families, but the exact nature of how its inherited or the identity of a single reason for it in your genes isnt known, he says. The risk fortype 2 diabetesusually goes up with age, he adds. People who dont have other risk factors for the condition should start getting tested after age 45.

Diabetes can cause a cascading array of other health problems, Dr. Harari says. When there isnt enough insulin or the insulin isnt used as it should be,sugar or glucose cant get into your cells to be used for fuel. When sugar builds up in yourblood, your cells dont work the way they should.

Symptoms of type 2 diabetes can differ from person to person but according to Dr. Harari they commonly include:

Other problems can also be linked to the buildup of sugar in the blood, Dr. Harari says, including:

Dehydration: The buildup of sugar in the blood can make you urinate more, as your kidneys try to clear the sugar from your body. Frequent urination means youre losing a lot of fluid, which can lead to dehydration.

Hyperosmolar nonketoticdiabetic coma: When a person with type 2 diabetes becomes severely dehydrated and doesnt drink enough fluids to make up for the fluid losses, they may develop this life-threatening complication.

Damage to the body: Over time, highsugar levelsin the blood can damage nerves and small blood vessels of theeyes, kidneys andheart,and also put someone at risk of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the largearteries, whichcan cause aheart attackorstroke.

Dr. Harari reminds patients that anybody can get type 2 diabetes. However, he says the risk tends to be highest in people who:

In addition, Dr. Harari says, older people are more likely to get diabetes because aging makes the body less tolerant of sugars.

If yourdoctor suspects you may have type 2 diabetes, they will first check for signs of it in your blood, looking for high blood sugar levels). They may also look for sugar or ketone bodies in yoururine, says Dr. Harari. Tests used to diagnose type 2 diabetes include a fasting plasma glucose test and a casual plasma glucose test.

Dr. Harari cautions that if you have type 2 diabetes and arent controlling it well, you could develop serious and even life-threatening complications, including:

Diabetes is one of the most preventable diseases, says Dr. Harari. Studies have shown that 90 percent of all type 2 diabetes cases could be prevented, or significantly delayed, simply by eating healthier and getting enough physical activity.

In one study cited by Dr. Harari, researchers followed 3,234 people who wereconsidered at risk of developing diabetes because they were overweight and had higher blood glucose levels. Those who participated in a program ofexerciseand diet geared to losing excessweight in this case, an average of 15 pounds lowered theirrisk of diabetesby close to 60 percent.

Those over the age of 60 were able to cut their risk by more than 70 percent and these were people who already had a highrisk of diabetes, notes Dr. Harari. The lesson here is, stay active, keep your weight in the normal range and youll probably never get diabetes.

A diabetes diagnosis isnt a death sentence, assures Dr. Harari. In some cases, lifestyle changes can keep the disease entirely under control, he says. Still, many people with diabetes need to take oral medications that lower blood sugar levels. When these arent enough to do the job, insulin may be necessary, sometimes along with oral drugs. Dr. Harari notes that the FDA has recently approved several new drugs that work with insulin to improveblood sugarmanagement. Although treatment has improved, controlling diabetes remains a challenge, which is why we focus on prevention.

Tags: Baptist Health Primary Care, diabetes, men's health, Sol Harari M.D., type 2 diabetes

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Expert Shares What Men Need to Know About Type 2 Diabetes - Baptist Health South Florida