On the occasion of World Diabetes Day (WDD), Luxembourg's Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Luxembourg Diabetes Association (ALD), is calling for awareness of diabetes screening in order to reduce the risk of complications.

"If we want to avoid the progression of this disease, we must rethink our daily lives, that is, adopt a healthy diet, exercise regularly, maintain normal weight and stop smoking," said Minister Mutsch.

The number of people with diabetes has quadrupled since 1980. This increase is partly explained by the increase in the number of overweight people, in particular an increase in obesity and sedentariness which is widespread.

Type 2 diabetes accounts for nearly 90% of diabetes worldwide

Today, more than 24,000 people have diabetes in Luxembourg. In the vast majority of cases, this is type 2 diabetes, strongly linked to lifestyle.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that can not be cured but can be treated and controlled. It is caused by a lack or lack of use of insulin, a hormone. Diabetes prevents the body from properly using sugar as a source of energy.

There are 3 types of diabetes:

- Type 1 diabetes affects mainly younger people. It is due to the destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic cells;

- Type 2 diabetes occurs mostly in overweight people aged 40+. It is due to a resistance of the body to the insulin, this hormone not succeeding in breaking down sugar in the cells;

- gestational diabetes, occurring only during pregnancy.

In all three cases, without treatment, sugar levels (blood glucose) rise in the blood.

1 adult in 4 with diabetes is not diagnosed

In Europe, 25% of people with type 2 diabetes are unaware of their disease.

Delayed diagnosis makes people particularly vulnerable to complications of the disease, causing significant disability and premature death. Thus, many people with type 2 diabetes will develop at least one complication before the disease is diagnosed. If the disease is diagnosed early, treatment may be initiated early, and the risk of severe and costly complications may be reduced.

To these figures are added 26% of people in a pre-diabetes stage, i.e. people at high risk of developing diabetes in the following years, if they are not encouraged to adapt their lifestyle and taken care of their health as soon as possible. In many cases, diabetes is a major cause of blindness, cardiovascular disease, kidney failure and lower limb amputation (IDF Diabetes Atlas, 7th edition). It is therefore urgent to screen or diagnose the disease and to initiate appropriate treatment for people with diabetes.

In this sense, the theme of World Diabetes Day 2016 - "Keeping an Eye on Diabetes" - focuses on the importance of screening to enable rapid diagnosis of diabetes and its complications and

to identify those at risk of developing the disease in the future.

Diabetes Actions in Luxembourg

As part of World Diabetes Day in the Grand Duchy, the Ministry of Health is sponsoring an information and awareness campaigns organised by the Luxembourg Diabetes Association (ALD), as follows:

• Solidarity walk "10,000 steps against diabetes", Saturday 12 November 2016 at the Tramsschapp in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg. It is an awareness-raising initiative and promotion of physical activity and a healthy diet in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. This activity is organised in collaboration with the Fédération de la marche populaire (FLMP) within the framework of the national programme "Gesond iessen, Mei bewegen". 5 km and 10 km walks will be organised, with a new family rally this year: «Diabetes Go!». Besides the walk, participants will have the opportunity to inform themselves and calculate their risk of diabetes, as part of the IDF project "Test2Prevent".

• Open House on Diabetes, on Sunday, 13 November 2016 at the Hôtel Parc Belle-Vue; "Keep an eye on diabetes":

In addition, the information awareness activities are also taking place at two hospitals early next week:

- Monday 14 November 2016 at the Centre hospitalier de Luxembourg and at the Centre hospitalier du Nord, in Ettelbruck and Wiltz;

- Tuesday 15 November 2016 at the Hôpital Robert Schuman, Kirchberg.

For further information, see www.sante.lu,  www.ald.lu,  www.idf.org,  www.worlddiabetesday.org.

The World Diabetes Day is held annually on 14 November.