Living with Diabetes

What is Diabetes?
Why Study Diabetes?
Information and Resources

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not properly control the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. As a result, the level of sugar in the blood is too high. This disease occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin or does not use it properly.

In Type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce sufficient insulin because the immune system has destroyed the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin.

In Type 2 diabetes the body fails to properly secrete insulin or is resistant to the insulin the body produces. This type of diabetes is strongly associated with lifestyle factors such as excess weight, physical inactivity, and poor nutrition. Changing these lifestyle factors can reduce the likelihood of diabetes complications.

Gestational diabetes is a condition which occurs during pregnancy and goes away after childbirth. This type of diabetes results from pregnancy related hormonal changes.

Pre-diabetes is a term which refers to higher than normal blood glucose levels identified through blood testing. Pre-diabetes is a risk factor for the development of Type 2 diabetes.

For more information on diabetes, its causes, and its treatment, please visit Diabetes Australia.

Sources:

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare 2008. Diabetes: Australian facts 2008. Diabetes series no. 8. Cat. no. CVD 40. Canberra: AIHW.

Diabetes Australia. (2006). What is diabetes? Accessed 27 march 2008.

Barr, E. L. M., Magliano, D. J., Zimmet, P. Z., Polkinghorne, K. R., Atkins, R. C., Dunstan, D. W., Murray, S. G., Shaw, J. E. (2006). The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study: Tracking the Accelerating Epidemic: Its Causes and Outcomes. Melbourne: International Diabetes Institute.

Why study diabetes?

The National Health Survey shows that the proportion of Australians living with diabetes has doubled in the last two decades (1) and this increase is forecast to continue for some time to come (2). The most comprehensive data available, from the AusDiab Study, suggest that about 7.5% of Australian adults have diabetes, only half of whom have been diagnosed (3). The rate of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is approximately three times greater than other Australians (1).

Good diagnosis and management of diabetes and improvements in lifestyle can markedly decrease the likelihood of developing complications, including eye and kidney disease (4).

The current study aims to collect information that can help to improve the quality of services available to people with diabetes, identify ways to enhance quality of life, and find ways to help people self manage their illness. The study will inform health care providers, including Queensland Health, about their successes in improving services for people living with diabetes as well as areas needing improvement.

References

ABS. (2006). Diabetes in Australia: A Snapshot, 2004-05 (No. 4820.0.55.00). Canberra, Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Begg, S., Vos, T., Barker, B., Stevenson, C., Stanley, L., & Lopez, A. (2007). The burden of disease and injury in Australia 2003 (No. PHE 82). Canberra: AIHW.

Barr, E. L. M., Magliano, D. J., Zimmet, P. Z., Polkinghorne, K. R., Atkins, R. C., Dunstan, D. W., Murray, S. G., Shaw, J. E. (2006). The Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study: Tracking the Accelerating Epidemic: Its Causes and Outcomes. Melbourne: International Diabetes Institute.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2008). Diabetes: Australian facts 2008. Canberra: AIHW.