The complications of diabetes aren’t sweet!

Last Tuesday, November 14, 2017 was celebrated as World Diabetes Day. Diabetes and its related complications is one of the leading causes of death in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Diabetes is also a major cause of morbidity, accounting for most of the amputations that take place in SVG.

In terms of monetary significance, the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines spends a significant amount of money for the care and treatment of patients with diabetes. Diabetes medication, along with treatment modalities, can become very costly, especially when long-term care is needed.

Diabetes can cause many complications. The most known complication is probably hypoglycaemia. However, there are more serious complications of the disease. Long-term complications of diabetes develop gradually. The longer you have diabetes and the less controlled your blood sugar is, the higher the risk of complications. Eventually, diabetes complications may be disabling or even life-threatening. Possible complications include:

» Cardiovascular disease. Diabetes dramatically increases the risk of various cardiovascular problems, including coronary artery disease with chest pain (angina), heart attack, stroke and narrowing of arteries (atherosclerosis). If you have diabetes, you are more likely to have heart disease or stroke.

» Nerve damage (neuropathy). Excess sugar can injure the walls of the tiny blood vessels (capillaries) that nourish your nerves, especially in your legs. This can cause tingling, numbness, burning or pain that usually begins at the tips of the toes or fingers and gradually spreads upward. Left untreated, you could lose all sense of feeling in the affected limbs. Damage to the nerves related to digestion can cause problems with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or constipation. For men, it may lead to erectile dysfunction.

» Kidney damage (nephropathy). The kidneys contain millions of tiny blood vessel clusters (glomeruli) that filter waste from your blood. Diabetes can damage this delicate filtering system. Severe damage can lead to kidney failure or irreversible end-stage kidney disease, which may require dialysis or a kidney transplant.

» Eye damage (retinopathy). Diabetes can damage the blood vessels of the retina (diabetic retinopathy), potentially leading to blindness. Diabetes also increases the risk of other serious vision conditions, such as cataracts and glaucoma.

» Foot damage. Nerve damage in the feet or poor blood flow to the feet increases the risk of various foot complications. Left untreated, cuts and blisters can develop serious infections, which often heal poorly. These infections may ultimately require toe, foot or leg amputation.

» Skin conditions. Diabetes may leave you more susceptible to skin problems, including bacterial and fungal infections.

» Hearing impairment. Hearing problems are more common in people with diabetes.

Remember effective sugar control is the key.

Dr Rosmond Adams, MD is a medical doctor and a public health specialist. He is also an ethicist with training in research ethics and medical ethics. He is the head of Health Information, Communicable Disease and Emergency Response at the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).

He is also a member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Coordination Mechanism (GCM) on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

(The views expressed here are not written on behalf of CARPHA nor the WHO)