Seven diabetes myths dispelled
Despite being relatively widespread, disease is often misunderstood
Did you know that you could have type 2 diabetes and not show any symptoms? If your answer is yes, you're part of a tiny minority in Hong Kong, according to a recent poll by a health care service provider.
Only 3 per cent of the city's white-collar population knows that diabetes could be asymptomatic, found the survey commissioned by Drs Anderson & Partners and carried out by Baptist University. The researchers interviewed more than 500 white-collar workers aged 18 years and above by phone in July and August.
More than half of the respondents possessed high-risk factors for the disease, such as middle age (40 or above), lack of regular exercise, immediate family members having a history of diabetes mellitus, obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or women giving birth to overweight infants. Yet, most of those not diagnosed with diabetes did not consider themselves to be in a high-risk group.
Results of a study by researchers at King's College London published last year in the journal Diabetologia found that 62 per cent of type 2 diabetics in developed countries did not have any apparent symptoms when diagnosed.
Type 2 diabetes accounts for more than 90 per cent of diabetes cases. It develops when the pancreas stops producing enough insulin - a hormone that allows the body to use sugar from carbohydrates in food for energy - or becomes resistant to insulin. Genetics and lifestyle factors, such as unhealthy diet, obesity and lack of exercises, contribute to the development of the condition.