#ITSABOUTTIME #NDW2017
Tasmanians unnecessarily hospitalised every year due to failure to recognise early signs of type 1 diabetes
Tasmanian children are being hospitalised each year in serious life threatening situations before they are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, Diabetes Tasmania warned today.
Diabetes Australia is launching a new campaign “It’s About Time” to encourage the community, families, schools and health professionals to recognise the early signs of type 1 diabetes and help avoid many of the hospitalisations.
“Each year too many Tasmanians including children end up in hospital emergency rooms in serious, life-threatening situations because the early signs of type 1 diabetes are not recognised,” Diabetes Tasmania CEO Caroline Wells said.
“Failure to recognise the early symptoms of type 1 diabetes such as severe fatigue, thirst, increased visits to the toilet and weight loss can lead to a dangerous condition called diabetes ketoacidosis.
“Diabetes ketoacidosis is a serious condition associated with high blood glucose levels. It is a sign of insufficient insulin. People who are showing signs of diabetes ketoacidosis need urgent medical assistance. “Almost twenty people a year, including children, only learn they’ve got type 1 diabetes after presenting to hospital, often with diabetes ketoacidosis. This can be life threatening. But most of these hospitalisations could be avoided if the early signs were identified and the type 1 diabetes treated before progressing to ketoacidosis. Ms Wells said everyone should learn the early signs of type 1 diabetes.
“Type 1 diabetes is far more common than most people think. Over 3000 Australians are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes every year. Half of these are children and adolescents,” she said.
“It’s about time we all knew the early signs of type 1 diabetes. People should look for the 4T’s:
Thirst – are they really thirsty and unable to quench that thirst?
Toilet – are they going to the toilet a lot?
Tired – are they more tired than usual?
Thinner – have they recently lost weight?
“If you see these early signs, see a doctor straight away and ask about type 1 diabetes.”
“International research shows increased awareness of the early signs of type 1 diabetes
amongst the entire community, from families and schools through to health professionals,
will help reduce the number of people admitted to hospital before being diagnosed with
type 1 diabetes.” Ms Wells finished.
People can download campaign materials and further information by visiting
http://diabetestas.org.au/NDW17
‘It’s About Time’ we detected all types of diabetes earlier …
Early detection of type 1 diabetes
Failure to recognise the early signs and symptoms of type 1diabetes such as severe fatigue/tiredness, excessive thirst, frequent urination, and weight loss can mean that diagnosis of type 1 diabetes is delayed and too often these people develop diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA). This is an acute complication which can be life threatening and often requires hospitalisation.
Around one in five people who are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes only learn they’ve got type 1 diabetes after presenting to hospital with DKA.
In the past year, 3186 Australians were newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. That means around 640 people end up in hospital before finding out if they have type 1 diabetes. Around half of these newly diagnosed people are children, and half are adolescents.
Internationally, rates of DKA at time of type 1 diabetes diagnosis range from around 11 per cent to 80 per cent. This significant level of variance reflects a number of factors including the successful implementation of education campaigns around the early signs and symptoms of type 1 diabetes.
Diabetes ketoacidosis
Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a potentially life-threatening complication of type 1 diabetes caused by a lack of insulin. Without enough insulin, the body’s cells cannot use glucose for energy and, to compensate, the body burns fat for energy. This leads to the production of high levels of blood acids, known as ketones, which are also present in the urine.
Signs and symptoms may include dehydration, rapid breathing, vomiting, frequent urination, tiredness, abdominal pain and confusion. In the lead-up to a DKA episode, unexplained weight loss may also be observed. If not treated, urgently DKA can lead to coma, acute kidney failure, cerebral injury or even death. A person’s breath may develop a specific, sweet smell. Onset of symptoms is usually rapid.
Four T’s
To promote awareness of the early signs of type 1 diabetes, the “Four T’s” have been developed (by Diabetes UK).
Everyone should know the 4T’s of Type 1 Diabetes:
o Thirst – are they really thirsty and unable to quench that thirst?
o Toilet – are they going to the toilet a lot?
o Tired – are they more tired than usual?
o Thinner – have they recently lost weight?
National Diabetes Week 2017
9 – 15 July
Early diagnosis and early treatment can help people avoid becoming seriously ill with DKA.
Education campaigns work. A successful type 1 diabetes awareness campaign in Gosford decreased the proportion of children who were presenting with DKA at the time of type 1 diabetes from 37.5 per cent to 13.8 per cent.
An Italian awareness campaign slashed these rates from 78 per cent to 12.5 per cent10.
General statistics
Diabetes is the biggest challenge confronting Australia’s health system in the 21st century.
Diabetes is estimated to cost the Australian economy around $14.6 billion per annum.
Type of Diabetes Nationwide prevalence 31 March 2017 Tasmania prevalence
Type 1 diabetes: 118,142 2979
Type 2 diabetes: 1,076,970 24,128
Gestational: 37,424 (during the previous 12 months) 660
Other: 7,615 296
Total: 1,240,15127 28, 063
It is estimated around 1.7 million Australians have diabetes.
This includes all types of diagnosed diabetes (1.2 known and registered) as well as silent, undiagnosed type 2 diabetes (up to 500,000 estimated).
An estimated 2 million Australians have impaired glucose tolerance or impaired fasting glucose (collectively pre-diabetes) and are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes in coming years.
Evidence shows type 2 diabetes can be prevented in up to 58% of high risk cases.
280 Australians develop diabetes every day. That’s one person every five minutes.
Internationally
There are more than 415 million people living with all types of diabetes. That is around one in 11 adults.
Around $673 billion is spent on diabetes – around 12 per cent of global health expenditure.
There are around 5 million deaths per annum for diabetes and related conditions – that is one person every six seconds.
By 2040, the International Diabetes Federation estimates diabetes-related health spending will top $800 billion.
By 2040, more than 642 million people will be living with diabetes, around 10 per cent of all adults.
The seriousness of diabetes
There is no such thing as ‘mild’ diabetes.
All types of diabetes are serious, progressive and complex diseases which can have a major impact
on quality of life and life-expectancy.
Early diagnosis, optimal treatment and effective ongoing support and management reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications.
Diabetes
Is the leading cause of blindness in adults
Is a leading cause of kidney failure and dialysis
Is the leading cause of preventable limb amputations
Increases the risk of heart attacks and stroke by up to four times.
Types of diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a serious, autoimmune condition in which the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin are destroyed. Type 1 diabetes can occur at any age.
Type 1 diabetes is not linked to lifestyle factors, it cannot be cured and it cannot be prevented.
Type 2 diabetes is a serious, progressive and complex condition in which the body becomes resistant to the normal effects of insulin and/or gradually loses the capacity to produce enough insulin. We don’t know what causes type 2 diabetes, however it is associated with both genetic and modifiable lifestyle risk factors.
Gestational diabetes is a form of diabetes that occurs in about 5-10 per cent of pregnancies and usually disappears after birth. It significantly increases a woman’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the future.
Caroline Wells, Chief Executive Officer, Diabetes Tasmania
