Diabetes on the rise!

A report published by the WHO (World Health Organisation)stated that the number of people living with diabetes almost quadrupled since 1980, from 108 million adults in 1980 to 422 million in 2014.Most of these people live in developing countries. The main causes of diabetes are overweight and obesity. [1]

Many people think that diabetes only affects the sugar level in the blood, thus affecting kidney health. But in fact, diabetes can cause a number of health issues, including affecting liver function which could lead to serious liver diseases. The is because diabetes raises the risk of having nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; this condition occurs in at least half the patients with type 2 diabetes and close to half of those with type 1 diabetes. Apart from diabetes, other conditions, such as obesity, high cholesterol level and high blood pressure, also increase the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

According to various data, diabetes is now the most common cause of liver disease in the U.S.Diabetes together with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are now recognized as the most common causes of cirrhosis, which has become the third leading reason for liver transplant in the U.S. [3][4] Moreover, most diabetes patients often have other chronic health problems which require long term medications. Long term use of these medications may further damage liver function and health as all drugs and medications have various degrees of side effects. [5] 

Hence we can see that diabetes is actually closely related to liver health. But as there is no medication for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), both doctors and diabetes patients often neglect the need for liver protection, resulting in the reduction of liver function, or even the development of liver diseases. In fact, diabetes can be controlled by diet, exercises, and using the correct medications. The use of effective measures to protect the liver function of diabetes patients should definitely not be overlooked!