The statistics are stacking up.
But it can be managed
Managing Diabetes Using C-Peptide to Detect Pancreatic Insulin Secretion
By 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that the worldwide incidence of diabetes will double from 150 million to 300 million. According to the ADA, 20.8 million children and adults in America have diabetes, or seven percent of the population. Without urgent action, WHO estimates deaths from diabetes to increase at an alarming rate—50 percent in the next ten years.
Poorly controlled diabetes leads to serious complications. Secondary consequences result in increased morbidity, mortality, and economic burden. The following complications related to diabetes are rising according the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Heart Disease & Stroke
- Adults with diabetes have heart disease death rates 2 to 4 times higher than those without diabetes
- Risk for stroke is 2 to 4 times higher among people with diabetes
Blindness
- Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults ages 20 to 74 years.
- Diabetic retinopathy causes 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness each year
Kidney Disease
- Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney disease, accounting for 44% of new cases in 2002
Well controlled diabetes significantly reduces diabetes complications and mortality. Insulin and connecting peptide (C-peptide) assays can be used to help diagnose the disease and determine whether a patient’s pancreas is producing insulin enabling clinicians and patients to better manage their diabetes.
Diabetes Diagnosis and Management using C-Peptide
When a healthy pancreas releases proinsulin into the blood, it is split into insulin and C-Peptide in equal amounts. In type 1 diabetes patients, the pancreas is unable to produce insulin, which also leads to decreased C-peptide levels. Whereas in type 2 diabetes, patients’ C-peptide levels may be elevated due to insulin resistance that drives increased insulin production. Because C-peptide has a longer biological half-life in the bloodstream (~30 minutes) than insulin (~five minutes), plasma C-peptide concentrations more accurately reflect pancreatic insulin secretion rates. Furthermore, C-peptide levels fluctuate less than insulin levels, are independent of exogenous injected insulin, and are not subject to interference from insulin autoantibodies in the blood induced by insulin therapy.
When is the C-Peptide Assay Ordered?
The C-Peptide assay is used to test pancreatic beta cell function in patients when:
- Differentiating between type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients
- Determining the residual beta cell function in newly diagnosed patients with diabetes to determine how much insulin the pancreas is producing
- Monitoring type 2 patients with diabetes to determine when insulin production needs to be supplemented with exogenous insulin
- Assessing the potential causes of hypoglycemia, or low blood glucose
Hope is Here Today
We can change the predicted pandemic future of diabetes by focusing on the present, person by person. Earlier detection and more precise disease management will turn the tide and C-Peptide, a good indicator for pancreatic insulin secretion, is an important part of that process.
