85 - Diabetes mellitus
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 April 2023
Summary
The deaths in this category are due to insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (also known as Type I diabetes) and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (also known as Type II diabetes).
See also Map 57 Endocrine disorders (not diabetes).
Social geographical history plays a key part in the patterning of deaths from diabetes. High rates in north east London, much of the West Midlands, north Manchester and parts of south Wales all point to different geographically concentrated populations who share in common an elevated propensity to die from this cause. Black Caribbean and South Asian people have a higher risk of developing diabetes than White people, and therefore the map reflects, in part, where people from these ethnic groups live. Low rates are found in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Bristol and across the southern chalklands from Somerset to Sussex.
Diabetes mellitus – most commonly referred to as simply diabetes – is a metabolic disorder where the body has abnormally high blood sugar resulting from low levels of the hormone insulin. Type I and II diabetes are chronic conditions. Type I is fatal within months without insulin injections. Type II diabetes can be managed by dietary treatment, tablets and insulin supplementation where necessary. A third type is gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy. This may normalise after delivery but women experiencing gestational diabetes have an increased risk of Type II diabetes in later life.
The acute complications of diabetes include ketoacidosis (when there is very high blood sugar due to insulin deficiency) and hypoglycaemia (when blood sugar is too low due to treatment). Both can lead to coma. Chronic complications include increased risk of cardiovascular disease, chronic renal failure, damage to the retina which in turn leads to blindness, and nerve damage,
particularly of the feet. Peripheral vascular disease can cause gangrene and may require amputation.
Many people who have Type II diabetes are unaware that they have the condition.
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- Information
- The Grim Reaper's Road MapAn Atlas of Mortality in Britain, pp. 172 - 173Publisher: Bristol University PressPrint publication year: 2008