Concerns about "diabetes wave"; More people with pre-diabetes

“If we do nothing now, we will soon be confronted with a diabetes wave,” warned the director of the Diabetes Fund, Diena Halbertsma. According to estimates published by Maastricht University on Monday, one in five people between the ages of 40 and 75 currently has prediabetes; a preliminary phase of diabetes 2 that unknowingly causes damage to the body. “Like an assassin,” said the fund. It launched a campaign against the progression of (pre)diabetes, including a test through its own website.

About 1.1 million people in our country currently have prediabetes, up from an estimated 1.1 million people in 2018. “And that number is growing. Nearly a thousand people are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes every week.” Pediatricians are also “increasingly seeing children and young people who have the disease or are in the early stages.”

“We are in a diabetes crisis. The number of people at high diabetes risk is alarming,” said Halbertsma. “The research shows that over the course of eight years, 14 percent of people with prediabetes develop type 2 diabetes. That is approximately 200,000 people in the age group between 40 and 75 alone.”

People are often unaware of the risk they already run of type 2 diabetes. They don’t notice symptoms for a long time and often think that they eat healthy enough and that they are “too young” to get the disease. “Knowing that you are at risk is crucial, long before you are diagnosed. Knowing in time means being able to limit the damage and possibly prevent the disease,” the fund said.

The fund believes it is important to focus on “early testing so that Dutch people become aware of their risk and can reduce it if possible.” If you know in time whether you are at risk, you may be able to prevent the disease, the fund said. And “people with prediabetes can reduce their risk by half by living a healthier lifestyle. Even if you already have diabetes, a healthy lifestyle can lead to less medication use and fewer health problems.”

According to the organization, it is not “at all possible to live well” with diabetes as is often claimed. “You have a greater risk of health problems like cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, and eye problems,” said Halbertsma.