Is diabetes getting younger? 6 "bad habits" that matter a lot! Are you addicted to insulin and afraid of kidney dialysis? Doctors expose diabetes 'treatment myths'
Sedentary lifestyle and genetic diabetes are increasing among the young population?
Sitting for long periods of time not only makes you gain weight, but may you also cause diabetes to go home early? Dr. Chen Weichang from the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism of Cathay General Hospital accepted an exclusive interview with “healthorn” and pointed out that bad living habits are the main reason for the increase in the number of people with diabetes year by year. For example, eating less and eating more, excessive intake of sugary drinks , etc. will increase weight and cause obesity and insulin resistance . In addition, polygenic inheritance is also related to diabetes. If there is a family history of diabetes and an unhealthy lifestyle, the risk of diabetes will be greatly increased.
Dr. Chen Weichang said that type 2 diabetes used to be more common in middle-aged and elderly people and was related to insulin resistance or insufficient secretion. However, in recent years, it has also been found that diabetes has a younger trend. The reason is closely related to polygenic inheritance and poor lifestyle, such as long working hours, high stress, abnormal diet, habit of staying up late , reversing day and night, and sitting for a long time after meals. , all may be bad habits that cause diabetes in young people.
When young people develop diabetes, their blood sugar control may even be less ideal than among middle-aged and elderly people? Dr. Chen Weichang pointed out that the young and middle-aged population is the main labor force in society, and they are more responsible for the economy and family. They are more likely to have irregular meals or disordered daily routines, and it is also more difficult for them to comply with medical advice and regular treatment. For example, patients who are engaged in high-working-hour industries such as transportation and driving have difficulty in fixing their meal and medication times, which not only makes it difficult to control blood sugar but also increases the risk of blood sugar fluctuations.
Type 2 diabetes has many hidden symptoms. Eat too much, drink too much and urinate too much. Don’t ignore it.
Dr. Chen Weichang explained that the body’s blood sugar stability is controlled by a very sophisticated endocrine mechanism, which is balanced by insulin, glucagon and various hormones. When too many calories are taken in, the body’s blood sugar will rise, which will increase the secretion of insulin and convert the excess glucose into glycogen and fat for storage.
However, once the body is in a state of high blood sugar for a long time, it can cause obesity, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and even diabetes.
Dr. Chen Weichang said that “three more and one less” are the main signs of type 2 diabetes. Three more means drinking more, eating more, and urinating more; and one less means that when diabetes occurs, insulin resistance and glucotoxicity will make insulin unable to function. It is used by the body and even secretes insulin secretion defects, resulting in weight loss.
Doctors remind that type 2 diabetes usually has hidden symptoms in the early stages. Patients will also explain the cause of the symptoms themselves, thinking that they are just too tired, not sleeping well, drinking too much water , etc. There are also many patients who are only discovered to have diabetes due to infection, surgery, or health check-up.
He was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 40 while working a shift. Young people should control blood sugar as early as possible.
For example, Dr. Chen Weichang once treated a 40-year-old male diabetic patient who was engaged in health care. The patient usually works in shifts. After get off work, he only has to eat and sleep. He is also unable to exercise and is getting fatter. Because of his shift work, he often felt listless at work. He thought it might be because he was too tired from work, but he almost never thought that he would get diabetes. Due to work, the patient said he was unable to take injections and his medication compliance was not ideal. At this time, it is necessary to discuss with the patient again and again, and use long-acting drugs to help the patient control blood sugar in a way that can match the patient’s lifestyle and does not affect work.
In addition, public myths about diabetes treatment may also affect patients’ willingness to receive treatment. Dr. Chen Weichang explained that diabetes drug treatment is divided into two categories: oral and injection. The effective and beneficial treatment method is selected based on the patient’s comorbidities and glycated hemoglobin. Current research points out that if blood sugar can be strictly controlled in the early stages of diabetes, the occurrence of diabetic complications can be reduced or delayed. When many young patients with diabetes are diagnosed, their glycated hemoglobin is already quite high. At this time, long-acting insulin will be administered to help patients control high blood sugar as soon as possible. In addition, some current diabetes drugs have a protective effect on the heart and kidneys, and these drugs will also be used to help patients in subsequent treatment.
Is insulin addictive? Are you afraid of dialysis? Doctors expose misconceptions and gullible beliefs
Dr. Chen Weichang emphasized that many patients or family members worry that once insulin is introduced, they will need lifelong injections and may even become addicted. This is actually a wrong myth. Insulin is administered to allow the overworked pancreas to rest. The sooner high blood sugar is controlled, the greater the benefit to subsequent treatment and patient health. After first intervening with insulin to control blood sugar, when the condition of the pancreas improves, oral medication can be used.
Another common diabetes myth is that administering insulin will cause patients to undergo kidney dialysis. Dr. Chen Weichang explained that when insulin treatment was introduced in the early stage, most of the patients had poor blood sugar control or were in the end stage of diabetes. Their kidney function was greatly damaged, and they even faced kidney dialysis. At this time, most patients could only use insulin treatment, so it was misunderstood as an injection. Insulin causes kidney dialysis.
Dr. Chen Weichang emphasized that early and stable blood sugar control can reduce the patient’s risk of developing small vessel disease in the future. Therefore, timely intervention of insulin and other treatments is based on the patient’s blood sugar, age and other conditions. On the one hand, allowing the pancreas to rest can also reduce the damage to the kidneys caused by high blood sugar. , but will help delay the possibility of entering kidney dialysis in the future.
Dr. Chen Weichang reminded that people with diabetes should receive stable treatment, have three regular meals and exercise at least three days a week for 30 minutes each time. The amount of exercise can be broken down into 10 minutes three times a day, with moderate intensity such as brisk walking, jogging, or riding a bicycle. In addition, people with diabetes should reduce their intake of late-night snacks, snacks, sugary drinks, etc. to avoid excessive blood sugar fluctuations caused by overeating . If you have any concerns about blood sugar control, you should consult a professional physician in the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism.
