Know Your Numbers - Diabetes

It is expected that by 2030 approximately 4.6 million people in England with have diabetes (both diagnosed and undiagnosed). Monitoring your weight and knowing how much you should weight is important, but the only way of knowing if you have diabetes is by having a blood glucose test. Having high blood glucose levels damages small blood vessels and increase your risk of developing complications with your eyes, kidneys, nerves and cardiovascular system.

What glucose results should you expect?

The normal range for blood glucose is:

• 5–5.5mmol/l before meals
• less than 8mmol/l two hours after meals

How often should glucose be tested?

If you have any of the following symptoms:

• urinating more than usual, particularly at night
• feeling very thirsty
• feeling very tired
• unexplained weight loss
• penis or vagina itching, or frequent episodes of thrush
• cuts or wounds that heal slowly
• blurred vision

What increases your risk of diabetes?

• Being over 40 years of age (over 25 if you’re South Asian)
• having a close family member diagnosed with diabetes
• being overweight or obese, with a waist size of over 80cm (31.5 inches) for women and 94cm (37 inches) for men
• if you’re of South Asian, Chinese, African-Caribbean or black African origin (even if you were born in the UK)
• if you have (or have had) cardiovascular disease
• if you have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
• if you’re a woman and you’ve had gestational diabetes or given birth to a baby of over 10 pounds
• if you have a mental health condition (e.g. depression, schizophrenia or bipolar disorder) and you’re taking medication for it

 

Information collated from:

http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes-health-numbers.html

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Diabetes-type2/Pages/Diagnosis.aspx