Around 537 million people worldwide are affected by diabetes, including around 600,000 in Austria alone, and this figure is expected to rise further due to the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity. Medicine has recently gained fundamental new insights into the development of the disease and made enormous progress in therapy. This has prompted MedUni Vienna diabetologists Alexandra Kautzky-Willer and Yvonne Winhofer to publish a new edition of the diabetes guidebook in MedUni Vienna’s "Health.Knowledge" series, published by MANZ Verlag. Scientifically sound and easy to understand, the book provides up-to-date facts and tips on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of ’diabetes’. 14 November is World Diabetes Day.
Current studies show that type 2 diabetes can no longer be seen as "old-age diabetes" and warn of a high risk of cardiovascular disease, particularly in young people with type 2 diabetes. In this age group, high blood sugar levels develop primarily due to rapid abdominal weight gain.
Further recent research has identified new diabetes subtypes that show different manifestations of type 2 diabetes from person to person. These findings not only enable a better understanding of different types of the disease, but also targeted, individualised forms of therapy. ’There has been great progress in recent years with new classes of medication that not only lower blood sugar, but also have numerous additional positive effects,’ reports Alexandra Kautzky-Willer from MedUni Vienna’s Department of Medicine III. The new drugs not only offer better protection for the heart and kidneys, they also help with weight loss and can even reduce mortality rates.
"In addition, there have been numerous technological innovations for blood glucose control in recent years, which make everyday life much easier for people with type 2 diabetes," emphasises Yvonne Winhofer, also from MedUni Vienna’s Department of Medicine III. "We have included all these innovations in the new edition of the book." In addition to correct blood glucose control, the importance of other risk factors such as elevated blood lipids and high blood pressure is also explained. "New classes of medication have also been added here, which make it easier to achieve personalised target values," say the authors.
Diabetes mellitus refers to a group of metabolic diseases that are characterised by chronically high blood sugar levels. "At 90 per cent, type 2 diabetes is by far the most common form, but of course we also deal with type 1 diabetes or gestational diabetes in the book, where we are also seeing an increase," say the authors. The recently published health guide contains reliable and up-to-date knowledge as well as numerous practical tips on how to either avoid diabetes or live as well as possible with the disease: "If you know your disease, it will be easier to cope with it! You’ll find everything you need in this book."
,,Diabetes. Vorsorgen, rechtzeitig erkennen und richtig behandeln",
Alexandra Kautzky-Willer und Yvonne Winhofer,
MedUni Wien im MANZ Verlag,
ISBN 978-3’214 -25958-7, 196 Seiten, 23,90 Euro,
https://shop.manz.at
