to combat it you need to know if you are at risk – WWN

Many, too many people with diabetes, in Italy and throughout the world. This disease, in both its forms, has long been a health emergency and therefore the topic of World Diabetes DayNovember 14th, Know your risk, know your answer: today it is possible to understand how much you are at risk of type 2 diabetesa metabolic disease associated with increased resistance toinsulinthe hormone necessary for the management of glucose metabolism, but finally also of type 1 diabetesan autoimmune disease in which antibodies destroy insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

Type 1 diabetes: symptoms

In the case of type 1 diabetes, which often occurs when young or very young, the possibility of knowing the risk of getting ill is a novelty made possible by the advancement of scientific knowledge, which today allows us to find the antibodies responsible for the disease in the blood before it manifests itself with severe symptoms such as ketoacidosisa metabolic decompensation that can lead to death and leave behind permanent damage. Furthermore, Italy is the first country in the world to have established a screening of these antibodies in under 18s, which will start in 2024 thanks to the approval of Law 130/2023 last September. The work to get there was long, as he explains Nicola Zeni, president of the Italian Diabetes Foundation, the association promoting the law: It took two intense years, in which we shared the urgency and necessity of the law with all the political parties. It was truly exciting to be able to listen to the parliamentary debates on several occasions type 1 diabetes e celiac disease (as part of the same screening, the auto-antibodies responsible for gluten intolerance will also be looked for, ed), an event that had never happened previously in the history of Italy. The sensitivity and intelligence demonstrated by the people who brought forward the bill is truly commendable. Now it is a matter of quickly defining, as required by the law itself, the methods with which to implement screeningwhich it is hoped will begin in the first half of 2024. Fondazione Italiana Diabete is already working on other research projects, relentlessly pursuing its mission of find the definitive cure for type 1 diabetes.

The importance of screening

This result is very important because, as he adds Valentino Cherubini, president of the Italian Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetologyif the disease has an early onset and appears in children under 10 years of age, it can reduce life expectancy by sixteen years. However, if diagnosed in time, treated and well controlled, life expectancy as adults is the same as that of the population without diabetes. Once the young patients with a high probability of developing type 1 diabetes have been identified, parents must be informed of the symptoms to watch out for and provide for close monitoring glycemia
. This will allow us to prevent the onset of ketoacidosis, which still occurs in 40 percent of cases and is very dangerous, as well as leaving permanent damage; Furthermore, screening, allowing individuals at risk to be identified, is also the only way to be able to use new therapies such as teplizumab in the future, which allows the onset of type 1 diabetes to be delayed by 2-3 years precisely in these subjects and currently authorized only in the United States.

Type 2 diabetes

Know your fundamental risk even in the case of type 2 diabetes, which in Italy it affects over four million people and causes 80 thousand deaths a year, with as many as nine preventable deaths every hour. This is why today the Parliamentary Intergroup Obesity, Diabetes and Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases and FeSDI – Federation of Italian Diabetological Scientific Societies (made up of SID – Italian Society of Diabetology and AMD – Association of Diabetologists) have underlined the importance of knowing your risk of getting diabetes and then monitoring it glycemia
, because doing so is crucial for prevention, early diagnosis and timely treatment. Identify factors such as familiarity or lifestyles which can predispose to the disease of fundamental importance – he underlines Angelo Avogaro, president of FeSDI and SID —. An accurate assessment can identify people at high risk, allowing them to adopt effective preventive measures, such as a balanced diet, regular exercise and weight control. These actions can delay or even prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes, significantly improving the quality of life and limiting avoidable mortality, given that Most people with diabetes die from cardiovascular complications. Type 2 diabetes is a complex disease which, thanks to unhealthy lifestyles, continues its inexorable growth, affecting more and more people, including young people who often live in precarious living conditions. However a pathology that remains preventable – specific Riccardo Candido, vice president of FeSDI and new national president of AMD —. To stop its progress, as well as that ofobesity which is the first risk factorit is essential to convey to citizens and patients the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles, in terms of nutrition and physical activity, especially if there is a history of diabetes in the family. Knowing the risk of onset of the disease, together with primary prevention tools, allows you to intervene promptly and reduce the potential impact of the disease.