Diabetes Prevention Week
Diabetes Prevention Week 2025 runs from 23-28th May.
What is diabetes and why is prevention important?
Diabetes is a serious condition where the blood glucose level is too high. It can happen when the body doesn’t produce enough insulin or the insulin it produces isn’t effective. Or, when the body can’t produce any insulin at all. In the long-term, high glucose levels are associated with damage to the body and failure of various organs and tissues.
Diabetes awareness plays a pivotal role in addressing the challenges posed by this chronic condition. Raising awareness helps to understand the risk factors associated with diabetes, promotes early detection, and encourages lifestyle changes that can prevent or delay the onset of the disease.
How many people in Northern Ireland have diabetes?
There are currently almost 115,000 people in Northern Ireland living with diabetes and this rises annually by over 3,000 due to our ageing and growing population. It is estimated around 12,000 people are also living with Type 2 diabetes and have not yet been diagnosed.
Types of diabetes
The most common types of diabetes are type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes.
Type 1 – when the immune system attacks and destroys the cells in the pancreas that make insulin. As a result, the body doesn’t make insulin. Type 1 is usually diagnosed in childhood, although it can appear at any age. About 8% of people are living with Type 1. No one really knows exactly what causes it, but it isn’t due to being overweight and it isn’t currently preventable. Type 1 is treated by daily insulin doses via injections or an insulin pump.
Type 2 – when the body doesn’t make or use insulin well. Type 2 can be developed at any age, even during childhood, though most often it is diagnosed in middle/older adults. About 90% of people living with diabetes have Type 2. Many factors can play a role in the diagnosis, such as family history, age, ethnic background and being overweight. Type 2 can be treated with a healthy, balanced diet and physical activity.
Gestational – develops in some women during pregnancy. Most often, this type of diabetes goes away after the baby is born. However, if previously diagnosed with gestational diabetes, there are greater chances of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Gestational diabetes forms due to body’s inability to produce enough insulin or body’s cells becoming resistant to insulin’s effects during pregnancy due to hormonal changes.
About 2% of people living with diabetes have other not as common types of diabetes:
- Type 3c
- Latent Autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA).
- 11 different forms of monogenic diabetes
- Cystic Fibrosis related diabetes
| Symptoms may include: | High blood glucose also leads to health problems such as: |
| · Frequent urination
· Increased thirst · Increased tiredness · Unexplained weight loss · Genital itching or thrush · Cuts and wounds taking longer to heal · Blurred vision
|
· Heart disease
· Stroke · Kidney disease · Eye problems · Dental disease · Nerve damage · Foot problems |
What is pre-diabetes?
Some people may have a blood sugar level that presents as higher than normal, however not high enough to be classed as type 2 diabetes. This is known as pre-diabetes. This means you are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and making some lifestyle changes may help to prevent or delay a diagnosis.
How to reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes?
The risk of developing type 2 diabetes can be reduced by:
- Eating well – maintaining a balanced diet
- Moving more – being more physically active
- Getting support to lose weight, if you need to
Approximately 3 out of 5 cases of Type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed!
Further Information & Support
For further information and resources about diabetes please refer to Diabetes UK website. Also, don’t forget to check out the B Well website for some useful resources. The B Active and Eat Well sections include links to sources of support such as being physically active, eating a balanced diet and weight loss.
For more information on the resources and programmes offered by the Health Improvement Team please visit our page here.
