More than 220 million people worldwide have diabetes, and this number is likely to more than double by 2030 without intervention.1 In the US, diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death, and recent surveys estimate that the annual costs associated with the chronic care of the complications of diabetes in the US exceed $174 billion.2 Current estimates are that approximately 57 million people in the United States have pre-diabetes. Recent research has shown that some long-term damage to the body, especially the heart and circulatory system, may already be occurring during pre-diabetes.3
The diagnosis of diabetes is made primarily by the detection of hyperglycemia. There are many tools, however, in the arsenal of diabetes-related diagnostic tests. Diabetes-related assays are performed for various reasons on many different types of patients:
- Newly diagnosed diabetics - To help determine if they have type 1 or type 2 diabetes when the clinical indications are inconclusive.
- Type 2 diabetics - To monitor and adjust therapies.
- All diabetics - To test for diabetic nephropathy by measuring their urinary albumin levels.
- Postmenopausal women - Studies indicate that this group may have an increased risk for cardiac mortality if they have an elevated urinary albumin level.
- Women diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome - This syndrome affects 6 to 10 percent of all women, with 50 percent having insulin resistance. These women are at high-risk for developing type 2 diabetes. An abnormally elevated insulin level with hyperglycemia could indicate insulin resistance.
Type 1 Diabetes
- Formerly called “insulin-dependent” or “juvenile-onset” diabetes
- An autoimmune disease that causes destruction of pancreatic beta cells, which are responsible for synthesizing and secreting insulin
- Accounts for 5 to 10 percent of all diabetics
Type 2 Diabetes
- Formerly called “non-insulin-dependent” or “adult-onset” diabetes
- Caused by insulin resistance or inadequate insulin secretion
- Accounts for 90 to 95 percent of diabetes in developed countries
Pre-diabetes
- Patients with Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Impaired Fasting Glucose
- Individuals have blood glucose levels higher than normal but not high enough to be classified as diabetes
- People with pre-diabetes have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke4
Siemens offers a wide range of diabetes-related assays that aid in the differentiation of type 1 from type 2 diabetes, to monitor the diabetics’ glycemic control, and to follow the progression of the disease.
Intervene early with diabetes assays from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics.
1. World Health Organization (who.org)
2. American Diabetes Association (www.ada.org)
3. American Diabetes Association (www.diabetes.org)
4. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov)