Managing Diabetes Complications and Lifestyle: Insights from Director Woo Eun-gyun

2023-06-25 01:00:00

｜Director Woo Eun-gyun, a specialist in internal medicine
｜Risk of complications in young diabetic patients with obesity ↑
｜Efforts should be made to manage lifestyle and blood sugar

According to the ‘2022 Korean Diabetes Fact Sheet’ published by the Korean Diabetes Association, as of 2020, there are regarding 6.05 million diabetic patients over the age of 30, and regarding 15 million pre-diabetic patients. More than 20 million people, or more than 40% of Koreans, are at risk of diabetes. Excluding the COVID-19 period, it has shown a sharp increase at an average annual rate of 5.6% over the past five years. Director Woo Eun-gyun (Yonsei Internal Medicine Clinic), a specialist in internal medicine, cited ‘diabetic complications’ as the reason why diabetes is more dangerous.

Director Woo Eun-gyun┃Source: Yonsei Internal Medicine Clinic

Scary diabetic complications…but not aware of the severity
If you have diabetes, it damages blood vessels and causes complications throughout the body from head to toe. Complications range from head to toe, including cardiovascular disease, retinopathy, kidney disease, and diabetic foot disease. In the early stage of diabetes complications, there are no special symptoms, so it is more dangerous. By the time you detect symptoms, it is often too late. Retinopathy, which is a common cause of adult blindness, appears as a microvascular complication, and angina pectoris and myocardial infarction due to narrowed coronary arteries occur as cardiocerebrovascular complications. In particular, these cardiovascular diseases increase the risk of death. Symptoms such as stroke, dizziness, and memory loss also occur due to cerebrovascular disorders. Diabetic foot disease, a form of diabetic foot disease, can sometimes lead to amputation of the foot.

Diabetes complications cause such serious consequences, but awareness of their risks is still lacking. Director Woo Eun-kyun emphasizes, “It is important to start managing complications from the moment you are diagnosed with diabetes.” However, modern people, especially young people, do not know that they are suffering from diabetes or neglect it even if they know. This is because they do not recognize that excessive drinking, overeating, lack of exercise, and smoking are the main enemies of blood sugar management.

Obesity is the main cause of diabetes in young people…The rate of development of diabetes complications is also high
According to the results of a study published in the Korean Diabetes Association, the incidence of diabetes per 1,000 people in their 20s and 30s was 1.3 in 2006, but increased to 1.7 in 2015. You may not think it’s a big difference, but it’s a meaningful change compared to the decrease in incidence in people over 40. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2016 to 2018, it is estimated that 69,000 people in their 20s and 179,000 people in their 30s have diabetes. In the meantime, there have been efforts throughout society to encourage lifestyle improvements such as exercise, healthy eating habits, smoking cessation, and sobriety from the pre-diabetic stage. However, as these efforts did not work in the young, the incidence of diabetes increased in the young.

Dr. Woo said, “Excessive drinking and overeating causes insulin resistance, which causes high blood sugar and high blood pressure, and increases the risk of abdominal obesity and fatty liver. It makes it more difficult to control blood sugar. “If you have diabetes from the beginning, the risk of developing diabetic complications is higher. In addition, because the rate of complications in young patients is high, major organ complications can develop before 20 years have passed since the onset of complications. The risk of early death also increases.” The risk of diabetic complications in the floor was explained. In addition, he warned, “In the case of young diabetic patients, blood sugar management is urgent.”

The basis of blood sugar management is lifestyle modification. You have to exercise hard while eating a restricted diet. In diabetic people, the time when blood sugar is highest is between 30 minutes and 1 hour following eating, so exercising 30 minutes following eating helps to manage blood sugar. However, it is not easy in reality for young people who are active in social activities.

Obesity makes it difficult to control blood sugar and promotes the development of diabetic complications｜Source: Getty Image Bank

Be alert to regular checkups for lifestyle management and blood sugar management
Director Woo Eun-gyun says that no matter how busy you are, if you have diabetes, you should always keep in mind ‘regularity’ and ‘continuity’. A regular lifestyle is important for both diabetics and non-diabetics. However, for diabetic patients, regular exercise has a greater effect. In particular, muscle exercise is of great help in preventing fractures in diabetic patients. In addition, the longer the history of diabetes, the more difficult it is to control blood sugar following meals. In addition to exercise, Director Woo Eun-kyun also emphasized the importance of blood sugar management through regular blood tests, including glycated hemoglobin.

“The glycated hemoglobin test is a test to check whether patients with diabetes are well controlled. In the case of normal people, it is maintained at 4 to 5.6%, but in the case of diabetic patients, it rises to 6.5% or more. HbA1c is 2 to 3 months It is a number that shows the average blood sugar control status during the period, so it is recommended to measure it regularly to manage blood sugar. In particular, I tend to perform a glycated hemoglobin test to check for diabetic complications. Microalbumin in urine to check for diabetic nephropathy. is performed every 6 months, and the glycated hemoglobin test is used to reach the treatment goal of diabetes. The hyperlipidemia test is also performed at the same time to prevent arteriosclerosis complications.”

Director Woo Eun-gyun explained, “Because it is difficult to find out the cause of diabetes for each person, it is good to have such a test periodically.” As the number of diabetic patients increases, especially in the younger generation, awareness of diabetic complications is needed. Of course, many new technologies such as continuous blood glucose monitors and artificial pancreas have been developed and applied to diabetes treatment, but the most important thing is prevention. In your 20s and 30s, you should abandon the complacent idea that diabetes does not occur and manage your usual lifestyle. In particular, you should be more careful if you have a family history, obesity, overeating, excessive drinking, or smoking. Dr. Woo said, “Heritage plays a big part in the occurrence of diabetes, but above all, a healthy eating habit and a balanced life through exercise are the most important. I hope you will be more vigilant.”

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