Akram.Elsaadany
Member
Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, heart attack, kidney disease, and amputation. Is Myth OR true ?
TRUTH: Actually, it’s “poorly controlled” diabetes that can cause these outcomes.
It’s no wonder even some of the most educated people with diabetes think complications are inevitable; every time you hear about complications,
there’s no distinction made between those who have wellcontrolled diabetes and those whose diabetes is poorly controlled.
Those of us who manage our diabetes well are likely to enjoy a longand healthy life, says psychologist Dr. William Polonsky.
The benefits of well-controlled diabetes is reflected in the numbers
The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and follow-
risk of the following complications by the following percentages.
• Eye disease—76 percent reduction
• Kidney disease—50 percent reduction
Nerve damage—60 percent reduction
• Cardiovascular disease—42 percent reduction
• Nonfatal heart attack and stroke—57 percent reduction
The twenty-year United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS)—the largest clinical study of diabetes ever conducted,
with more than 5,000 patients—proved that lowering blood glucose reduces microvascular and macrovascular (small and large
blood vessels) damage in people with type 2 diabetes just as in those with type 1. Controlling blood glucose was found to reduce
the risk of the following complications by these percentages.
• Retinopathy (eye disease) and neuropathy (nerve damage)—25 percent reduction
• Vision loss greater than—33 percent reduction
• Kidney disease—33 percent reduction
• Strokes greater than—33 percent reduction
• Diabetes-related deaths—25 percent reduction
Keeping diabetes, not just blood sugar, well controlled reduces the risk of complications by the following percentages.
• Controlled blood pressure can reduce the risk of cardiovascular
disease by 33–50 percent, the risk of microvascular
complications by 33 percent, and the decline in kidney
function in early kidney disease by 30–70 percent
• Control of blood lipids, HDL and LDL cholesterol, and
triglycerides can reduce cardiovascular complications by 20–
50 percent
• Detecting and treating diabetic eye disease with laser therapy
can reduce the development of severe vision loss by an
estimated 50–60 percent
• Comprehensive foot care programs can reduce amputation
rates by 45–85 percent
Thank You For Your Time
My Reference is
50 Diabetes Myth than Can Ruin your Life and the 50 Diabetes truth that can save it , Riva Greenberg ,
“Implications of the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study.” 2003. Diabetes
Care 26: S28–S32.
“The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial and Follow-Up Study.” 2008.
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/
dm/pubs/control/.
Parker-Pope, Tara. “Diabetes: Underrated, Insidious and Deadly.” 2008. New
York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/health/01well.html.
TRUTH: Actually, it’s “poorly controlled” diabetes that can cause these outcomes.
It’s no wonder even some of the most educated people with diabetes think complications are inevitable; every time you hear about complications,
there’s no distinction made between those who have wellcontrolled diabetes and those whose diabetes is poorly controlled.
Those of us who manage our diabetes well are likely to enjoy a longand healthy life, says psychologist Dr. William Polonsky.
The benefits of well-controlled diabetes is reflected in the numbers
The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and follow-
risk of the following complications by the following percentages.
• Eye disease—76 percent reduction
• Kidney disease—50 percent reduction
Nerve damage—60 percent reduction
• Cardiovascular disease—42 percent reduction
• Nonfatal heart attack and stroke—57 percent reduction
The twenty-year United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS)—the largest clinical study of diabetes ever conducted,
with more than 5,000 patients—proved that lowering blood glucose reduces microvascular and macrovascular (small and large
blood vessels) damage in people with type 2 diabetes just as in those with type 1. Controlling blood glucose was found to reduce
the risk of the following complications by these percentages.
• Retinopathy (eye disease) and neuropathy (nerve damage)—25 percent reduction
• Vision loss greater than—33 percent reduction
• Kidney disease—33 percent reduction
• Strokes greater than—33 percent reduction
• Diabetes-related deaths—25 percent reduction
Keeping diabetes, not just blood sugar, well controlled reduces the risk of complications by the following percentages.
• Controlled blood pressure can reduce the risk of cardiovascular
disease by 33–50 percent, the risk of microvascular
complications by 33 percent, and the decline in kidney
function in early kidney disease by 30–70 percent
• Control of blood lipids, HDL and LDL cholesterol, and
triglycerides can reduce cardiovascular complications by 20–
50 percent
• Detecting and treating diabetic eye disease with laser therapy
can reduce the development of severe vision loss by an
estimated 50–60 percent
• Comprehensive foot care programs can reduce amputation
rates by 45–85 percent
Thank You For Your Time

My Reference is
50 Diabetes Myth than Can Ruin your Life and the 50 Diabetes truth that can save it , Riva Greenberg ,
“Implications of the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study.” 2003. Diabetes
Care 26: S28–S32.
“The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial and Follow-Up Study.” 2008.
National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse. http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/
dm/pubs/control/.
Parker-Pope, Tara. “Diabetes: Underrated, Insidious and Deadly.” 2008. New
York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/health/01well.html.