Psychology
Health anxiety: when worry about illness takes over
Health anxiety is persistent fear of having a serious illness despite reassurance. Checking, googling and repeated tests keep it going; CBT breaks the cycle.
27 Sept 20267 min read
Diabetes
Also known as Diabetes mellitus, Sugar, Shugar, Zayabetes
Diabetes is a condition in which blood glucose stays too high, either because the body makes too little insulin or because it has stopped responding to it. Pakistan has one of the highest rates in the world, and a large share of people with it do not yet know.
is the fuel every cell runs on, and is the hormone that lets it in. In type 1 diabetes the immune system destroys the cells that make insulin, usually in childhood, and insulin injections are needed for life. In type 2, which is more than nine in ten cases, the cells stop responding to insulin and the pancreas eventually cannot make enough to compensate. Gestational diabetes appears in pregnancy and usually resolves after delivery, while leaving a raised lifetime risk of type 2.
What the numbers mean
| Test | Normal | Prediabetes | Diabetes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below 100 mg/dL (5.6 mmol/L) | 100–125 mg/dL (5.6–6.9 mmol/L) | 126 mg/dL (7.0 mmol/L) or above | |
| Below 5.7 per cent (39 mmol/mol) | 5.7–6.4 per cent (39–47 mmol/mol) | 6.5 per cent (48 mmol/mol) or above | |
| 2 hours after a 75 g glucose drink | Below 140 mg/dL (7.8 mmol/L) | 140–199 mg/dL (7.8–11.0 mmol/L) | 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) or above |
Passing urine often, unquenchable thirst, losing weight without trying, tiredness, blurred vision and slow-healing cuts are the classic symptoms — and early type 2 frequently has none of them, which is why matters. South Asians develop it younger and at a lower than European populations, so testing is advised from about 25 in anyone with another risk factor rather than waiting until 40.
Control is measured in more than sugar. Managing and prevents at least as much damage as glucose control does, because the harm diabetes causes to eyes, kidneys, nerves and heart is blood-vessel harm. Substantial weight loss in the first years after diagnosis puts a real minority into .
Where this comes up
Psychology
How habits form, and how to build good ones and break bad ones
Habits form by repeating an action in the same situation until the situation triggers it. It takes about two months on average, not 21 days, and missing a day is fine.
27 Sept 20268 min read
Tests & Diagnostics
HbA1c: What the Number on Your Diabetes Report Means
HbA1c is your average blood sugar over the last two to three months. What the bands mean, what a good target is, and the common conditions that make it unreliable.
31 Aug 202610 min read
General Medicine
The Annual Health Check: What Is Worth Testing
A useful yearly check is six or seven cheap tests, not a fifty-test package. What to ask for at each age, what to skip, and how to read the report.
30 Aug 202610 min read
Related terms
- HbA1cGlycated haemoglobin, A1cHbA1c measures the proportion of haemoglobin that has sugar stuck to it, which reflects the average blood glucose over roughly the past three months. It needs no fasting and is used both to diagnose diabetes and to judge how well it is controlled.
- InsulinInsulin hormone, Insulin injectionInsulin is the hormone made by the pancreas that moves glucose out of the blood and into cells. As a medicine it replaces or supplements what the body cannot produce, and it is given by injection because stomach acid would destroy it.
- GlucoseBlood sugar, DextroseGlucose is the simple sugar that circulates in blood and fuels every cell in the body, particularly the brain. Its level is held within a narrow range by insulin and other hormones, and both too much and too little cause harm.
- Fasting blood sugarFBS, Fasting plasma glucoseFasting blood sugar is the glucose level in blood after at least eight hours without food or sweetened drink. It is the simplest and cheapest test for diabetes, and one of the three that can diagnose it.