Many of the seniors (diabetes mellitus) underestimate, especially if they do not have significant symptoms. Diabetes 2. Type is the main factor of complications of large and small vessels. In seniors with untreated disease, the risk of amputation of the lower limb and up to three times the risk of renal failure is twice as high as the risk of amputation. At the Tuesday press conference, this was stated in the Prevention Week project by a diabetologist, endocrinologist and chief expert of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic for Diabetology, Metters Transformations and Nutritional disorders Peter Jackuliak.
“The sooner we capture the diabetes, the better the forecast. Even the 80-year-old diabetic can have a full and quality life with the right treatmentat a low risk of any complication. Unfortunately, in management, the elderly patients should be remembered of the basic premise of diabetology, ie I treat high sugar, hyperglycaemia, but without an increased risk of hypoglycaemia, ”Jackuliak said.
Explained that Low sugar levels can negatively affect the cardiovascular system and increase the risk of thrombosis. At the same time, more severe hypoglycaemia increase the risk of damage to the central nervous system, including dementia.
At the same time, the diabetologist distinguished two types of patients – so -called. “Proficient” and “fragile” (fragile). The cause of fragility may be reduced food intake, muscle loss, anorexia or worsening of cognitive functions. “For those vulnerable, you don’t want to have the value of sugar completely close to normal, but we are somewhere between 7-10 millimols,” noted.
Jackuliak stressed that regular blood glucose controls and patients’ education are crucial. According to him, more than 338,000 patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus are currently being monitored in diabetology outpatient clinicsand in 2023 more than 27,000 newly diagnosed persons were added. According to him, the diabetes itself shortens the life expectancy by six years, in the presence of complications up to 12 to 16 years.
According to Jackuliak, the treatment of diabetes does not only mean control of sugar levels. The diabetologist should take into account general risk factors including high blood pressure, blood clotting or heart disease. He explained that modern medicine today offers drugs that can affect several parameters at once – sugar, pressure, cholesterol, weight – while protecting the heart and kidneys. “We can give the patient a good full -fledged life with a low risk of complications, especially those cardiovascular,” noted.
