Diabetes mellitus has a substantial impact on the health of Australians. The disease may result in a range of complications responsible for disabilities, reduced quality of life, shortened life expectancy, and pregnancy-related complications for the mother and the foetus or newborn baby. As one of the top 10 causes of death in Australia, diabetes is responsible for an enormous public health and social burden.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a long-term (chronic) condition in which blood glucose levels become too high because the body produces little or no insulin, or cannot use insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that helps the body to use glucose (a type of sugar) for energy.
There are several types of diabetes, with different causal mechanisms. The three main types are:
- Type 1 diabetes
- Type 2 diabetes
- Gestational diabetes.
No comments:
Post a Comment