Impact of Diabetes on the Quality of Life
Metabolic and nutritional diseases include disorders of the thyroid gland, adrenal
glands, lipoprotein metabolism, disorders of pancreatic secretions, diabetes
mellitus, other disorders of glucose regulation, malnutrition, and obesity.
Among these, those with the greatest epidemiological and economic impact are
diabetes and weight problems, since they claim more lives than all other diseases
combined. In this sense, it is estimated that in the world 382 million people have
some type of diabetes mellitus, one billion people are overweight and more than
300 million are obese.
Regarding the economic impact, and just to give an example, health care
expenditures for diabetes accounted for 11% of total health expenditures in the
world in 2013. In addition, these diseases can occur simultaneously to the extent
that they share risk factors such as tobacco consumption, unhealthy diet, and
physical inactivity; in fact, overweight and obesity are estimated to contribute 44%
of the total burden of diabetes.
Similarly, both diabetes mellitus and weight problems are risk factors for other
diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer. The
fact that these disorders share metabolic characteristics, risk factors, and surrogate
outcomes makes them particularly suitable for simultaneous study.
Among the scientific publications that address these issues stands out the increase
in studies that refer to adolescents with diabetes mellitus, obesity and overweight,
diseases that in the social imagination were considered exclusive of adulthood.
Metabolic and nutritional diseases include disorders of the thyroid gland, adrenal
glands, lipoprotein metabolism, disorders of pancreatic secretions, diabetes
mellitus, other disorders of glucose regulation, malnutrition, and obesity.
Among these, those with the greatest epidemiological and economic impact are
diabetes and weight problems, since they claim more lives than all other diseases
combined. In this sense, it is estimated that in the world 382 million people have
some type of diabetes mellitus, one billion people are overweight and more than
300 million are obese.
Regarding the economic impact, and just to give an example, health care
expenditures for diabetes accounted for 11% of total health expenditures in the
world in 2013. In addition, these diseases can occur simultaneously to the extent
that they share risk factors such as tobacco consumption, unhealthy diet, and
physical inactivity; in fact, overweight and obesity are estimated to contribute 44%
of the total burden of diabetes.
Similarly, both diabetes mellitus and weight problems are risk factors for other
diseases such as ischemic heart disease, stroke, and some types of cancer. The
fact that these disorders share metabolic characteristics, risk factors, and surrogate
outcomes makes them particularly suitable for simultaneous study.
Among the scientific publications that address these issues stands out the increase
in studies that refer to adolescents with diabetes mellitus, obesity and overweight,
diseases that in the social imagination were considered exclusive of adulthood.
