Living till 100 years of age with diabetes is not just possible, it's simple, says diabetologist Dr V Mohan. “All it takes is a little self-control.” CHENNAI: Living till 100 years of age with diabetes is not just possible, it's simple, says diabetologist Dr V Mohan. “All it takes is a little self-control.”
Diabetes Life Expectancy
The average life expectancy of a type 2 diabetic patient is between 77 to 81 years. However, it is not uncommon for diabetics to live past the age of 85, should they be able to maintain good blood sugar levels and lengthen their lifespan.
People With Diabetes Can Live Longer by Meeting Their Treatment Goals. Life expectancy can be increased by 3 years or in some cases as much as 10 years. At age 50, life expectancy- the number of years a person is expected to live- is 6 years shorter for people with type 2 diabetes than for people without it.
Amongst those who are currently 65 years old, the average man can expect to live until 83 years old and the average woman to live until 85 years old. People with type 1 diabetes have traditionally lived shorter lives, with life expectancy having been quoted as being reduced by over 20 years.
Some people have even lived with diabetes for seven and eight decades! It's important to know the risks of having a lifelong illness, but to not lose hope.
Untreated Type 2 diabetes can lead to a range of life-threatening health conditions. Diabetes requires lifelong management.
Ninety years ago, type 1 diabetes was a death sentence: half of people who developed it died within two years; more than 90% were dead within five years. Thanks to the introduction of insulin therapy in 1922, and numerous advances since then, many people with type 1 diabetes now live into their 50s and beyond.
The metabolic disease can lead to heart disease, stroke, blindness, and other medical problems, and is often severe enough to shave years off the lifespan. But trim, white-haired Bob Krause, who turned 90 last week, is still going strong. The San Diego resident is believed to be the oldest diabetic ever.
Indeed, myocardial infarction is the leading cause of death among individuals with diabetes mellitus.
Many people have type 2 diabetes for years without realising because the early symptoms tend to be general, or there are no symptoms at all.
Managing diabetes can be hard. Sometimes you may feel overwhelmed. Having diabetes means that you need to check your blood sugar levels often, make healthy food choices, be physically active, remember to take your medicine, and make other good decisions about your health several times a day.
Diabetics clearly should avoid heavy drinking (i.e., more than 10 to 12 drinks per day), because it can cause ketoacidosis and hypertriglyceridemia. Moreover, heavy drinking in a fasting state can cause hypoglycemia and ultimately increase diabetics' risk of death from noncardiovascular causes.
Even if your diabetes has been well controlled for years, the condition can still worsen over time, meaning, you may have to adjust your treatment plan more than once.
In fact, there are only 90 diabetics who have lived more than 70 years. But one man crushed that goal 15 years ago and is telling others how they can do it too. Eighty-five-year-old Don Ray can't remember a life without diabetes.
Yes. The Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) considers diabetes a disability.
Dead in bed syndrome (DIB) is a term used to describe the sudden unexplained deaths of young people with type 1 diabetes. The syndrome is characterised as when someone with insulin dependent diabetes has gone to bed seemingly perfectly fine and has been found dead in an undisturbed bed.
The risk of death with diabetes rises very significantly with age. In a 20 year old, it is about 1 in 200,000. In a 60 year old it is about 1 in 10,000. In an 80 year old it is 1 in 1000.
Over half a million people die every year (1), of these around 75,000 will have diabetes (11). Most will not die as a result of acute diabetes complications but of other comorbidities associated with the condition such as, cancer, stroke, respiratory disease, or cardiovascular disease (12).
The only known cure for Type 1 diabetes is either a pancreas transplant or a transplant of the specialized pancreatic cells that produce insulin. But with a shortage of available organs and 1.6 million people in the U.S. living with the disease, a cure for the vast majority is not possible.
It can cause symptoms like excessive thirst, needing to pee a lot and tiredness. It can also increase your risk of getting serious problems with your eyes, heart and nerves. It's a lifelong condition that can affect your everyday life. You may need to change your diet, take medicines and have regular check-ups.
In the pediatric population, the onset of type 2 diabetes is most often around the adolescence period, however, there are rare reports of type 2 diabetes developing in children as young as 5 and 8 years of age.
Type 2 diabetes most often develops in people over age 45, but more and more children, teens, and young adults are also developing it.
The exact cause of most types of diabetes is unknown. In all cases, sugar builds up in the bloodstream. This is because the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes may be caused by a combination of genetic or environmental factors.
The very first insulin injection to treat diabetes
On January 11, 1922, 14-year-old Leonard Thompson became the first person to receive an insulin injection as a treatment for diabetes. Prior to that, people with Type 1 diabetes did not survive for more than a few weeks or months with the disease.