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A hard slap in the face. This is how 55-year-old Anton Schaddelee, a diabetes patient for over forty years, describes the results of the study that was published Tuesday morning.
“I was very shocked by it. Thirteen years shorter life is really not nothing. I think a lot of people are only now realizing how bad the condition is.”
Anton has type 1 diabetes and the life of the fifty-year-old is completely dominated by the disease. “The condition has exhausted me physically and mentally for the past few years. More than twelve years ago I became incapacitated for work and a few years later I had my last heart attack,” he says. The man quickly sums up what he had to deal with as a diabetes patient. “In addition to two heart attacks, I also had a brain haemorrhage. So I’m really lucky that I’m still alive.”
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Anton Schaddelee: “I think many people are only now realizing how bad the condition is.”
Ⓒ Photos Aldo Allessie
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His story does not stand alone. More and more diabetics are struggling with their health. There are now almost 1.2 million Dutch people with diabetes and that number will grow to more than 1.4 million by 2040. An average of 39,000 people die each year in the Netherlands with the disease, which is about a quarter of all deaths. Those figures were already known, but the published study shows that 45 to 70-year-olds with type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to die, and five times greater for people with type 1.
The researchers concluded this as a result of a major analysis of healthcare data and linked this to the demographic data of Statistics Netherlands. In the study they calculated the life expectancy of three research groups; people with type 1 diabetes, people with type 2 diabetes and people without diabetes.
In diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, there is too much sugar in the blood, causing the body to produce too little insulin. This can damage blood vessels and nerves and make patients more likely to develop cardiovascular disease. Type 1 diabetes is not yet preventable or curable. Good blood glucose control and alertness to the development of complications are therefore important.
Type 2 diabetes can partly be prevented by paying more attention to a healthy lifestyle. According to the CBS, this condition is becoming more common, partly because more people are overweight. According to the researchers, these factors ensure that the life expectancy of both men and women with diabetes is 13 years shorter than that of people without the disease.
Difference
The difference in life expectancy at the age of 65 does decrease, but for men it is still seven years and for women more than eight years. In type 2 diabetes, the influence on life expectancy is slightly smaller; here, life expectancy is four years shorter at age 45 and two years at age 65.
Despite the shocking results of the research, according to Erik Serné – an internist for vascular medicine and diabetology at the AMC in Amsterdam – there is also hope.
“With type 2 diabetes, lifestyle changes can do something about the loss of years of life. For type 1, the possibilities for early and strict treatment of high blood sugar levels, the main cause of premature death, are improving. These developments are made possible through research.”
Anton also underwent special treatment in September last year. For example, he received a transplant of the islets of Langerhans (cells that produce insulin), so that his blood sugar level is better regulated. “It makes things a lot better with the insulin values.”
Tingling
“I love to play tennis, and before the procedure I was able to stand on the court for up to five minutes before reaching for the insulin pump. Now I can play tennis for three hours without any problem. That gives a wonderful feeling.” However, not everything is cake and egg. “I am still very tired every day and I take at least thirty tablets a day. I also suffer from neuropathy, which causes tingling in my hands and feet. Every day I am afraid of deadly complications,” sighs the fifty-year-old.
According to Etelka Ubbens, general director of the Diabetes Fund, more research is needed to ensure that life expectancy increases. “Developments are moving fast in the field of devices that help improve blood sugar regulation. That is hopeful and ensures a higher life expectancy and fewer complications.”
Developments
Some important developments in this area are the artificial pancreas and research into faecal transplantation. The artificial pancreas constantly measures the blood sugar level and if it is too high or too low, it automatically adjusts. A team from the Amsterdam UMC is investigating whether faecal transplantation – the transfer of bacteria from the intestines – can lead to a milder course of the disease with fewer hypos (low blood sugars) and hypers (high blood sugars).
These developments also give Anton hope. “More and more attention is being paid to the disease, which is a good thing. And I still want to live to be a hundred, because I have a beautiful family and hope to be able to take care of my child for years to come. So my time is far from over”, he smiles.
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