What is diabetes and why are so many people suffering from this disease in China?
- More than quarter of world’s diabetes patients – 114 million – live in the country, but only 39 per cent of sufferers are aware of their condition
- Disease, caused by high blood sugar levels in the body, leads to deadly health complications such as heart disease and stroke
The outbreak of the deadly novel coronavirus, which was first reported in Wuhan, China, has been capturing the world’s attention since the start of the year.
Yet while health experts hope that Covid-19 may eventually be contained, the nation continues to battle a different chronic disease that has grown sharply over the past few decades and is predicted to cause further deaths in the long run: diabetes.
In 2017, the country was home to 114 million diabetics – more than a quarter of the world’s total cases – according to the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF). By 2045, that figure is expected to reach 183 million.
What is diabetes?
Diabetes is a disease that occurs when the level of blood sugar in the body becomes too high.
As we eat our digestive system breaks down food and passes its nutrients, including glucose, into the bloodstream. The hormone insulin, which is produced by the digestive organ, the pancreas, transfers the glucose from our blood into our cells, where it is converted to energy.
