DIABETES

New ways of screening for diabetes

The usual method of screening for diabetes is to take a blood test with a blood sugar level. The venous blood sugar level is measured on an empty stomach for at least 8 hours. A blood sugar level between

1.10 g/l and 1.25 g/l, i.e. 6.0 and 6.8 mmol/l, indicates prediabetes with moderate hyperglycaemia on an empty stomach. It is advisable to repeat the test after one year. If the level is less than 1.10 g/l, i.e. mmol/l, the risk of prediabetes and diabetes does not arise. The test can be repeated after 1-3 There are now new ways to find out if you have diabetes.

Grip strength, a simple and inexpensive means of detection

It will now be possible to know the level of risk of diabetes over the next 20 years. Gripstrength is a simple and inexpensivediabetes screeningtool for this purpose. In fact, one unit of increased grip strength reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes by about 50%. However, the following factors should also be taken into account:

The information from these factors added to the handle strength will improve the test. Grip strength determines the strength of the forearm, wrist and hand muscles. If there is an increased risk of diabetes, additional diabetes screening is required .

Dogs to detect changes in blood sugar levels in children

The dog's sense of smell is 200,000 times more developed than that of man. In America, dogs are trained to detect variations in blood sugar levels: hyper or hypoglycemia. The concept consists of alerting the parents via a "poke" or a kick in the leg. This is another form of diabetes screening. These assistance dogs for insulin-dependent diabetic children are thus used to give the alert. This helps parents enormously. Parents will feel more reassured that they know the condition of their offspring and can act accordingly. This is a brand new concept in France. A diabetic child's lack of insulin can be recognised by great fatigue and intense thirst. The need to urinate becomes more frequent to the point of making him or her wet the bed again. In general, two insulin injections a day are required in paediatrics.

A smartphone to detect diabetes in an individual?

The concept is still at an experimental stage. However, the result promises to be successful in diabetes screening. It is based on PPG or photoplethysmography. It is a tissue illumination technique that can detect changes in the volume of blood in the body. It is generally used to measure the oxygen level in the blood and the heart rate. But researchers thought it could also be used to detect damage to blood vessels caused by diabetes. A deep learning algorithm has been developed to detect diabetes from the smartphone via PPG data. More than 80% of the people tested were identified as being at risk. They were encouraged to go to a doctor for confirmation of the test from a diabetes screening.

Diabetes complications in the absence of treatment

Recurrent hypoglycaemia results in the weakening of the walls of the blood vessels that feed the body's tissues. Many organs can be affected if diabetes is poorly controlled. This is why screening for diabetesis an essential step when in doubt. The various complications of diabetes are among others:

Diabetes screening: people at risk

These include people aged 45 and over. Obese people with an overweight abdomen are also at risk. Otherwise, heredity should be considered. If there is a diabetic in the immediate family, diabetes screening should becarried out . Too much cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking can cause diabetes in an individual. Stress has a hyperglycemic effect. Also, a situation of permanent stress can lead a person to diabetes. A sedentary lifestyle is also detrimental to health because it predisposes an individual to diabetes. The complications of this disease are not always obvious. It is therefore essential to screen for diabetes based onmedical history, age, health status and current treatments.