Diabetes silently 'attacks' young people, 1 out of 5 people will not know they have the disease

That is the information shared by Associate Professor Nguyen Thi Bich Dao - President of the Ho Chi Minh City Diabetes and Endocrinology Association - at the scientific conference on Management strategies for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases from recommendations to clinical practice organized by Gia An 115 Hospital.

Associate Professor Dang Van Phuoc - Vice President of the Vietnam Cardiology Association - shared that cardiovascular diseases are currently a global challenge, caused by high blood pressure and diabetes - Photo: KT

According to Associate Professor Nguyen Thi Bich Dao, diabetes is a chronic non-communicable disease, but is currently increasing very rapidly.

Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that there are currently about 589 million people with diabetes in the world. Meanwhile, 10 years ago, this number was only over 450 million people, leading to a huge increase in pressure on the health system.

In Vietnam, statistics from the Ministry of Health show that there are about 7 million people with diabetes, and up to 90% have type 2 diabetes.

What is worrying is that type 2 diabetes often progresses silently, without obvious symptoms, making it difficult for patients to recognize until complications appear.

Therefore, for every 5 patients who are diagnosed with the disease, 1 person will not know they have the disease. When the disease is detected, the patient is already in the late stage, with complications due to uncontrolled blood sugar.

It is worth mentioning that if diabetes is not well controlled, it will silently increase the risk of stroke by up to 52%, myocardial infarction by 60%, and coronary artery disease by 73%. Compared to normal people, the risk of heart failure in people with diabetes is up to 84%.

According to Ms. Dao, the world is currently focusing on a group of concern: pre-diabetes, which means that blood sugar levels before and after meals are unstable, but not enough to diagnose diabetes.

When this group is detected early, with adequate intervention, the disease can be reversed and prevented from progressing to diabetes in the future. The main causes of the disease are genetics, unhealthy lifestyles such as smoking, lack of exercise, overweight, obesity, etc.

The group at high risk of diabetes is people over 45 years old such as fathers, mothers, siblings with diabetes, high blood pressure, lipid disorders...

Doctor Dao recommends that to prevent diabetes, one needs to have a healthy lifestyle, a balanced diet, not eat excess fat, avoid using sweeteners when not necessary, eat lots of vegetables, and limit salt intake (less than 5 grams/day).

Exercise at least 30 minutes a day, do not stop exercising for more than two days, limit sitting too long in front of the phone, watching TV...

"The diabetes epidemic and the overweight and obesity epidemic go hand in hand. Being overweight and obese will cause metabolic disorders, and the risk of diabetes in the future is already there," said Dr. Dao.

Dr. Duong Duy Trang, deputy director of internal medicine at Gia An 115 Hospital, said diabetes causes complications in many organs, of which cardiovascular complications are the leading ones. If diabetes is treated well, cardiovascular complications can be prevented.

According to Dr. Trang, the current rate of diabetes tends to be younger due to many different reasons such as: living conditions, living environment, eating a lot of fast food leading to excess fat, high blood pressure, and lack of exercise.

Therefore, early screening for diabetes is an important step to protect public health, especially those at high risk.

Type 2 diabetes tends to be younger

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Disease Control, type 2 diabetes used to be common in the elderly but is now becoming more common in younger people, becoming a major public health concern.

According to statistics, about 70% of type 2 diabetes cases can be prevented or their progression can be slowed through a healthy lifestyle, including proper nutrition and regular exercise.

What is worrying is that type 2 diabetes often progresses silently, without obvious symptoms, making it difficult for patients to recognize until complications appear. Early detection through regular screening will help reduce the risk of complications and improve treatment effectiveness.

DONATE

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dai-thao-duong-am-tham-tan-cong-nguoi-tre-5-nguoi-se-co-1-nguoi-khong-biet-benh-20250712175050036.htm