Diabetes: Normal Blood Sugar
by Staff EditorLess Chance of Complications:
Whatever type of diabetes you have, the most important single fact you can know is this: the closer you keep your blood sugar to normal levels, the less chance you will have of ever experiencing any of the complications of diabetes.
Even though that statement seems like common sense, and many people suspected as much for years, we didn't know for a fact how important close control of diabetes was until recently.
Diabetes Control, Complications Trial and UK Perspective:
The two studies that proved conclusively how important it is to keep your blood sugar close to normal were the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial and the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study.
The Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (usually just called the DCCT), conducted from 1983 to 1993 by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, was, at the time, the most comprehensive diabetes study ever. It involved 1,441 volunteers with type 1 diabetes at 29 medical centers in the United States and Canada. This study compared the effects of two treatment regimens-stan¬dard therapy (typically, one or two shots of insulin a day) and intensive control- on the complications of diabetes. Participants in the intensive control arm of this study tested their blood sugar levels four or more times a day and took four daily insulin injections or used an insulin pump. They adjusted their insulin dose according to food intake and exer¬cise, followed a diet and exercise plan, and met with their health-care team monthly.
The results: Intensive control reduced the risk of eye disease by 76 percent. It reduced the risk a/kidney disease by 50 percent. And it reduced the risk nerve disease by 60 percent.
Although the DCCT focused on people with type 1 dia¬betes, its findings were confirmed by an even larger study called the United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study (UKPDS), which compared conventional and intensive therapy in more than 5,000 newly diagnosed people with type 2 diabetes.
The UKPDS confirmed that reducing blood sugar levels dramatically reduces the risk of complications in people with type 2 diabetes. It also found that controlling blood pressure, among those with diabetes whose blood pressure is high, dra¬matically reduces the risk of diabetes complications-especial¬ly the risk of strokes and vision damage.
Make no mistake: keeping your diabetes under control greatly reduces your risk of all the major complications of dia¬betes, and can help you live a long, healthy, fantastic life.
