An Overview of Diabetes and its Complications
Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder in which the body’s capacity to utilise glucose,
fat and protein is disturbed due to impairment in insulin secretion and/or insulin resistance
leading to chronic hyperglycaemia.
Therefore, having an understanding of the underlying pathophysiology and the acute
and/or long-term complications of diabetes will enable the development of strategies for ameliorating
the condition.
Individuals may be classified as having pre-diabetes or diabetes based on their fasting blood glucose and/or postprandial blood glucose. In this regard, individuals with impaired fasting glycaemia have fasting plasma
glucose >6.1 mmol/L to <6.9 mmol/L.
On the other hand, impaired glucose tolerance is in the range of >7.8 mmol/L to <11.1 mmol/L
following a 2 hour oral glucose tolerance test and both IFG and IGT define the extent of glucose
dysregulation between the range of normoglycaemia and type 2 diabetes.
The diagnostic criteria for patients with diabetes are fasting plasma glucose ≥7.0 mmol/L and
oral glucose tolerance Test (OGTT) ≥11.1 mmols/L.
While normal fasting glucose depends on the ability to sustain the production of basal insulin
and promotion of insulin sensitivity at the level of the liver, IFG results from abnormalities
of these metabolic functions and are often characterised by raised hepatic glucose output and
defect in early insulin secretion.
However, during OGTT, the normal body’s response is usually in the form of increased insulin
secretion, decreased hepatic glucose production and enhanced glucose uptake in the liver and
the muscle.
Diabetes Res Open J. 2016; 2(2): e4-e6. doi: 10.17140/DROJ-2-e005