Annual indicators for the timely diagnosis of diabetes are increasing, new therapeutic methods are emerging, but death from type 2 and type 1 diabetes mellitus ranks third after cancer and cardiovascular pathologies. Mortality is not caused by disease, but by inactivity during progression and, as a result, the defeat of vital systems.
Death from complications
Diabetes mellitus is incurable - a disappointing verdict has been heard by diabetics before. Medicine has learned to deal with that. But if treatment is neglected, the disease progresses and one result is a fatal outcome.
Nephropathy
Renal functionality is impaired due to the replacement of working organ tissue with connective tissue. Gradually, the kidneys cease to perform their role, causing complete renal failure. Destruction of glomeruli indicates the presence of proteins in the urine (urine analysis), which results in impaired function of their removal of toxic substances from the body.
After the transition to a chronic course, nephropathy is manifested by the following symptoms:
- swelling;
- hypertension progresses;
- anemia develops;
- nausea, headache;
- fluid accumulates in the lungs.
Gradual poisoning of the body, the development of heart failure leads to the progression of complications.
Cardiovascular complications
Vascular pathology develops in all patients with high blood sugar due to the early development of the process of atherosclerosis. The causes of death are heart attack, ischemic attacks, stroke or gangrene. Clinical complications often contain no symptoms, no characteristic pain, so the diagnosis is made late, which increases mortality.
Death from type 2 diabetes with cardiovascular complications is associated with the addition of several factors:
- toxic effects of elevated glucose levels in the body;
- presence of high cholesterol in the blood;
- high insulin levels;
- increased ability to coagulate blood.
Diabetic coma
Coma - acute and severe complications of diabetes. There are two most common comas, life-threatening. According to the mechanism of coma development and its clinical symptoms, they are divided into hypoglycemic and hyperosmolar coma.
Hypoglycemic
Who is most commonly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes due to a sharp drop in sugar levels? High doses of insulin or other drugs to lower sugar, physical activity, and liver problems are the reasons for its development. This is a fatal form of coma because it manifests suddenly, and after 10-15 minutes the person falls into an unconscious state and stops breathing. At the same time, signs of damage to the centers of the brain appear:
- reaction to external irritations is absent;
- muscle tone is reduced;
- heart rhythm is disturbed;
- hypotension developed.
hyperosmolar
Severe disturbance of metabolic processes causes the development of a hyperosmolar condition. Glucose levels reach 30-50 mmol / l, there is a large loss of fluid and salt, and the amount of sodium and nitrogenous substances in the body increases. This condition causes death in type 2 diabetes, but with timely treatment, you can avoid the characteristic signs of a fatal outcome.
- leg cramps;
- convulsive seizures;
- peripheral swelling;
- frequent shortness of breath;
- tachycardia;
- hypotension.
If the patient is not helped immediately in a coma, then the cause of his death will be pulmonary thromboembolism.
In case of untimely help, you can die from the following complications:
- limited blood volume;
- partial or complete stiffness of the pancreas;
- impaired renal function;
- pulmonary artery thrombus blockade;
- cerebrovascular accident;
- cerebral edema.
Neuropathy
Interruption in the blood supply to the limbs and nerve cells ends in the development of gangrene. Ulcers appear on the extremities that do not heal for a long time, which can cause the onset of infection, which leads to the development of a necrotic process with the penetration of the infection into the blood. As a result, the patient faces amputation.
The body's immunity to even strong antimicrobial drugs for diabetes increases the number of deaths in diabetic neuropathy.
Other causes of death
Chronic complications of diabetes are also considered life-threatening:
Abdominal pain may be a symptom of ketoacidosis.
- Ketoacidosis - progresses on the background of complete or partial lack of insulin. The process of developing a ketoacidosis condition lasts from a few days to weeks, a few hours with great intoxication, the symptoms appear gradually, and they are disturbing:
- Weakness, tinnitus, acetone odor, nausea, abdominal pain.
- Loss of appetite, vision, heart pain, shortness of breath, brown tongue.
- The patient falls into a coma.
Lactic acidosis is a rare and most severe form of complication. It progresses suddenly in the background of a state of shock, severe intoxication, heart or kidney failure. It is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- hangover
- state of delirium;
- nausea
- pale skin;
- muscle pain;
- heart rate;
- loss of consciousness.
Diabetes mortality statistics
According to research estimates, it is likely that women will die from men. 65% are due to death from type 2 diabetes with cardiovascular complications. Deaths from cardiac complications in type 1 diabetes are 35%. Although the main problem of diabetics is not the heart, the mortality from a heart attack is 3 times higher than that of a healthy person.
causes of sudden death in type 2 diabetes
The danger and insidiousness of diabetes are that it can affect all organs of the human body. Sudden death from type 2 diabetes can occur not only and not so much from high blood sugar and metabolic disorders, but also from complications. The most dangerous of these are coronary heart disease, chronic kidney failure, and damage to the vascular system.
Causes of death from diabetes
Previously, it was widely believed that diabetes was a deadly disease that could not be cured. You can live with this disease today. Detection of many pathologies, and complications arising from diabetes depends on the patient.
Sudden death in type 2 diabetes can occur for the following reasons:
- metabolic disorder in cells (diabetic ketoacidosis);
- hyperosmolar condition;
- coronary heart disease;
- vascular pathology, including atherosclerosis;
- diabetic nephropathy (this is the main reason for patients switching to hemodialysis);
- severe weakening of the immune system, which can lead to pathologies such as influenza, sinusitis, pneumonia, and others;
- diabetic foot (leads to gangrene).
Sudden death from diabetes is also caused by the following factors:
- smoking;
- alcohol intake;
- lack of physical activity;
- stress
- high insulin resistance.
It must be said that the second type of diabetes is no less dangerous than the first. And the treatment of all forms of such a disease should proceed most responsibly.
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common cause of sudden death. It comes is caused by cardiac failure. As a result, ventricular fibrillation results in cardiac arrest.s from heart failure. And in turn, ventricular fibrillation leads to cardiac arrest.
With fibrillation comes a sudden contraction of the heart muscle fibers. The organ loses the ability to pump blood into the largest blood vessel in our body - the aorta. Thus, blood circulation is interrupted. Death from diabetes can also occur with coronary arteriosclerosis.
In most cases, the fatal outcome can happen unexpectedly: at work, at home, or on the street. However, she was preceded by some symptoms (they appeared a few weeks before her death). As a rule, it is a deterioration in well-being, pain in the heart, and a drop in mood. If such symptoms occur in diabetes, you should consult a cardiologist immediately.
Patients with diabetes need to know that elevated blood insulin is a factor in sudden cardiac death.
Diabetes causes complications to the kidneys and quite serious ones. Dialysis treatments are needed to treat end-stage chronic renal failure. They are so annoying that about 20-25 percent of patients “sitting” on dialysis give up on it, condemning themselves to slow down death as an alternative to sensation during the procedure.
If the patient is lucky enough to find a donor, they will perform a kidney transplant. This, however, saves the patient from death, so do not start organ rejection, you need diet and immunosuppressive drugs.
Chronic renal failure begins to manifest only in later stages. Symptoms such as lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, severe itching of the skin, and a metallic taste in the mouth indicate that the patient is developing a terminal stage of renal failure. Even with minimal exercise, shortness of breath occurs. The unpleasant smell of ammonia was felt in his mouth. Further loss of consciousness and coma develop.
Sudden death can occur in the background of intoxication of the body with metabolic products. The end products of metabolism affect the heart muscle, nerves, and brain, due to which irreversible changes can develop in the body.
Only a low-carbohydrate diet can prevent the development of kidney complications. It lowers blood sugar. If the patient has chronically high glucose levels, any type of kidney treatment will be useless.
Death from neuropathy
This is the name of nerve damage in this disease. In this case, the nerves of the peripheral nervous system are destroyed. With the help of these nerves, the spinal cord controls the muscles and all organs.
Due to neuropathy, strong sore muscles can appear in the muscles. An autonomic nervous system disorder can lead to sudden death (the risk of death increases about fourfold).
The risk of such death increases significantly in the presence of the following symptoms:
- limb stiffness and tingling in them;
- urinary incontinence;
- dizziness;
- muscle weakness;
- colic.
Neuropathy is reversible. This means that if you lower your blood sugar and keep it stably low, the risk of nerve damage, which means sudden death, is significantly reduced.
Death from ketoacidosis and hyperosmolar coma
The presence of acetone in the blood leads to its acidification. With a small increase in blood acidity, patients feel weak. However, if the concentration of ketone bodies in the blood rises very abruptly and rapidly, that person immediately falls into a coma. And that can be the cause of sudden death.
Hyperosmolar coma is rare. Sometimes, due to dehydration and a person's great need for insulin, a person can quickly develop a hyperosmolar coma, which causes sudden death.
The following symptoms indicate that a person develops such a coma:
- colic
- speech impairment;
- nystagmus;
- paresis or complete muscle paralysis.
It must be remembered that the main way to prevent the sudden death of diabetes is a proper diet, timely injections of insulin in the correct dose, and physical activity.
Among the complex diseases, diabetes is not in last place and refers to diseases that can lead to death.
Many diabetics live to very old age. It depends on the treatment and discipline of the patient.
How does diabetes affect the human body?
Any type of diabetes is a dangerous disease. Therefore, when the first symptoms appear, you need to check your blood sugar level. This should be done at least once a year for preventive purposes.
In the modern rhythm of life, a large number of stresses can weaken the immune system. Another contribution to this is improper diet, frequent overuse. The use of alcohol and nicotine is very harmful, especially when the diagnosis has already been made. All this contributes to poor health and shortens life expectancy.
Complications that occur during diabetes mellitus contribute to a fatal outcome. If left untreated, it will progress and spread to many organs.
High glucose levels trigger the onset of this process. Against this background, intoxication begins, and the body is exposed to harmful substances. Organ systems begin to malfunction. With the development of diabetes, acetone and ketone bodies accumulate. If you control your glucose level and take special treatment, you can protect your patient’s body from any complications.
It is difficult to get rid of diabetes completely, but the main thing is to prevent complications. This approach does not depend on the species, but each of them has its own characteristic complications ..
Complications that affect the lives of diabetics
In type 1 diabetes, circulatory disorders are the most common, and the peripheral nervous system is also affected.
The most common complications:
- Impaired renal function, which can lead to death;
- Cataract development or complete blindness;
- Cardiovascular system disorder. Heart attack and ischemia may occur. Very often fatal;
- Stomatitis or periodontal disease may develop.
With insufficient levels of insulin in the body comes a high concentration of glucose in the blood. This is typical for type 2 diabetes. Complications will be possible in the form of violations of the cardiovascular system, vision. Skin diseases, and insomnia may occur. The patient loses appetite and reduces working ability.
Complications of type 2 diabetes:
Development of ketoacidosis, due to metabolic disorders at the cellular level. This can result in the death of the patient;
Worsening of nerve impulses, which can lead to complete muscle atrophy;
- Development of retinopathy and complete loss of vision;
- Pathologies in the endocrine system;
- Violation of blood vessels, leading to angiopathy;
- Acute renal failure. Requires special treatment; kidney transplantation is often required;
- Weakened immunity, leads to the development of infection. And that makes their treatment difficult. It is not possible to cure a common cold, which will turn into a more complex disease, it can also cause death.
Type 1 and 2 diabetes is a complex disease that requires individual treatment under the supervision of a physician. A necessarily responsible attitude of the patient and compliance with all requirements.
Complications leading to death
Complications of type 1 and 2 diabetes can be fatal. The most dangerous and most common of them are:
- Acute heart failure due to the development of diabetes can cause the death of the patient;
- Kidney and liver dysfunction;
- Complex kidney disease;
- Poor blood circulation in the veins of the legs leads to the appearance and development of infection.
In type 2 diabetes, such a complication leads to death in 65% of such complications, in type 1 the rate is 35%. It affects the female body the most.
With this diagnosis, the life expectancy of women is about 65 years, and for men about 50 years. Diabetics have a harder time withstanding myocardial infarction, and death from it occurs in them three times more often than in other people. In this case, the work of the left ventricle of the heart is disturbed and it is the cause of death. It occurs in 46% of patients with diabetes, and in 14% of diabetics, a heart attack causes other parts of the heart. After a heart attack, diabetes begins to progress, the patient will feel worse.
With diabetes, a painless heart attack can pass, and the patient has no doubt at all about its course. In this case, death can occur because no medical care is provided.
Patients with diabetes of any type may develop vascular atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, and impaired blood circulation to the brain. If the cardiogenic shock has developed, then it ends in death in 90% of such cases.
Increases mortality in patients with diabetes of any type:
- Smoking;
- Alcohol consumption;
- Sedentary lifestyle;
- Lots of stress;
- The patient does not notice insulin.
Due to high levels of insulin in the body, sharp fluctuations in glucose levels can occur.
Diabetes mellitus can increase the mass of the heart, while the number of collagen increases. In this case, the heart muscle becomes inelastic.
Most patients diagnosed with diabetes die from damage to the kidneys, liver, and heart. Do not always mention the diagnosis that caused the development of these disorders. Hypoglycemia very rarely becomes the official cause of death.
What can shorten the lives of diabetics?
Living diabetics are:
- A large amount of fat in the blood - ketoacidosis;
- Insufficient blood sugar - hypoglycemia;
- With type 2 diabetes, an attack of hyperosmolar coma is possible;
- High levels of lactic acid is a lactic acidotic coma;
- Acute heart failure;
- Impaired renal function;
- Poor liver function.
When a diabetic does not follow the doctor's recommendations, preventive examinations do not pass and blood glucose levels are not controlled, complications begin to develop. Any of them can cause death. Therefore, the root cause and the type of diabetes that led to this condition must be treated. With a normal sugar level, you can maintain the work of all organs in the right rhythm, which will help increase life expectancy.
Complications may begin to progress in elderly patients. At this point, chronic diseases will get worse. But proper treatment can prevent their rapid development and improve patient well-being.
It is, therefore, necessary to prevent blood sugar control. Especially for those who have a hereditary predisposition.
Causes of sudden death in type 2 diabetes
Until the invention of insulin, mortality among patients with diabetes was very high. According to statistics, about four million people die from diabetes every year. To live with this disease until old age, you need to learn how to control your blood glucose levels and be under the constant supervision of a doctor.
Who dies from diabetes?
It is definitely impossible to say what causes death in diabetes mellitus. All patients are individual and there is no specific reason. It all depends on neglecting the disease.
Complications of diabetes can be acute (rapidly progressive) and chronic (slow), which can lead to death. Therefore, acute events occur suddenly and a person can die within hours or days of them if you do not provide medical help.
Chronic ones develop over several years or even decades, but in the end, can cause a person’s death. That includes:
- myocardial infarction;
- stroke;
- heart failure;
- renal failure (kidneys do not perform their functions and do not remove urine from the body);
- diabetic foot (necrotic-ulcerative lesions of the lower extremities, resulting in gangrene and sepsis).
The most common cause of death of all available are complications from the cardiovascular system - heart attack and stroke.
Patients diagnosed with diabetes should have regular check-ups of their blood vessels and heart to avoid cardiovascular complications of the disease.
By the way, we recommend reading the article Diabetes insipidus: symptoms and treatment in women
Which determines the life expectancy of diabetics
A person who has heard a diagnosis of diabetes immediately panics, because the mortality rate of such people is very high. The body is gradually destroyed due to the fact that glucose does not enter the bloodstream, so they are forced to take it from healthy tissues. The sooner the disease is diagnosed, the more likely it is to live to very old age.
There is a classification of diseases of the first and second type of diabetes in the medical literature.
- The first type of disease is found mainly in young people. During the illness, a person experiences a constant lack of insulin. These types are also called insulin-dependent diabetes.
Insulin-dependent patients are constantly thirsty, a person can drink about five liters of water a day. There is also a feeling of hunger, but at the same time, it loses weight dramatically.
It is impossible to completely cure the disease, but if all the recommendations of the doctor are followed, it can be achieved in remission. Insulin therapy, little physical effort, and proper nutrition will help a person to live a normal life.
- Type 2 diabetes is most commonly seen in diabetics. It most commonly occurs after the age of 40 in overweight people. The pancreas produces insulin in small amounts, but the body does not respond to them completely. As a result, glucose accumulates in the blood without entering the cells.
Life expectancy for type 1 diabetes currently reaches 60-70 years. In this case, the disease should be diagnosed as early as possible, and the person during life to control all spheres of his life.
Proper nutrition, constant exercise, rejection of bad habits will help improve quality and life expectancy. With age, the appearance of problems with the cardiovascular system, kidney function. It is these problems that can cause death.
It is impossible to unambiguously answer how long the first type of diabetic lives and how they die, it all depends on the personality of the body, following the instructions of the doctor. But we can definitely conclude - the more responsible the treatment of the disease, the greater the chances of living a long life.
The life expectancy of patients with type 2 disease directly depends on the age and immunity of the person. According to statistics, patients who are not insulin-dependent live on average five years longer than insulin, but due to the more complex course of the disease, they are assigned a disability.
Prevention and treatment of the second type are in many ways similar to treatment of the insulin-dependent type, but daily monitoring of blood pressure and glucose is added to all measures.
Heart attacks and strokes as a cause of death from diabetes
Vessels are the target of glucose damage. Prolonged hyperglycemia can cause a decrease in elasticity and an increase in blood fragility. At the same time, the weakness of the vascular wall in the arteries of the brain can lead to bleeding, which means a hemorrhagic stroke.
Along with the way, hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol), which is also characteristic of diabetics, contributes to the development of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerotic plaques narrow the lumen of blood vessels and are able to completely interrupt blood flow in it, i.e. lead to blockage (clogging) of large arteries or veins. Disruption of the blood supply to some part of the heart muscle or brain can cause the development of a heart attack and ischemic stroke.
Also, scientists have found the fact that diabetics increase the number of collagen fibers in the myocardium, which should not be there, leading to heart muscle disorders.
cardiologists recommend conducting an ECG study with a frequency of 1 time per year, and angiography if necessary. Perform a blood test for the lipid spectrum (cholesterol and its derivatives) once every six months.
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