Diabetes in the World of WORK

 More than 10% of the population has diabetes to one degree or another and half do not know that they have it, this gives us an idea of ​​how important it is to understand what this disease consists of. What is? Does it have consequences? What duty does the company take into account when a worker is diabetic? In this article we want to give you answers to these questions

What is Diabetes?

Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disease that causes excess glucose in the blood and is due to a deficiency in the secretion and/or action of insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas. To understand it better, let's see what blood glucose levels tell us:Normal: Between 70 and 100 mg/dlHyperglycemia or prediabetes: Between 100 and 125 mg/dl.High (diabetes): Above 126 mg/dl.

Consequences of the disease on the body over time

Damage to various organs and systems of the human body (mainly kidney, retina, nervous system and cardiovascular system). Its effects on these organs, in untreated diabetic patients, decrease their life expectancy to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the degree of involvement.

Types of diabetes

Diabetes has at least two different forms of presentation:Type I diabetes mellitus (DMI): The production of insulin by the pancreatic cell is annulled. These cases require to be treated with insulin directly.Type II diabetes mellitus (DMII): It is the most frequent. It is produced by two processes that complement each other to a greater or lesser extent: progressive deficit in the production of insulin in the pancreas and resistance to the effects of insulin in the peripheral cells that capture glucose under normal conditions. This IIDM is directly related to a sedentary lifestyle and inadequate intake of sugars, especially refined ones, and fats.

Any of the treatments used in diabetes is looking to reduce and control the concentration of glucose in the blood. It can be through substitution treatments (insulin) or through oral antidiabetics, which can have three types of actions: eliminate more glucose from the body through the kidneys, stimulate the generation of more insulin in the pancreas or reduce resistance to insulin in peripheral tissues. A complication associated with the treatment of diabetes is precisely an excessive reduction in the level of glucose in the blood; the dreaded hypoglycemia.

Symptoms caused by an episode of hypoglycemia in a diabetic

Sensation of hunger and dizziness, nervousness, anxiety, profuse sweating, confusion and disorientation that can lead to delirium, arrhythmias... The process reverses quickly as soon as the patient eats some food. If left untreated, the process continues to progress until the patient loses consciousness.

Diabetes and work: relationship

Advances in medical treatment and in the control and monitoring of the disease. Spanish legislation and jurisprudence compiled in recent years endorse non-discrimination in the work of diabetics. Jobs incompatible with this disease are really exceptional.

Work is not a direct cause of diabetes, but its characteristics can behave as a contributing factor. That is, sedentary work, job stress, excessively long hours, changes in the schedule imposed by shift work, etc., favor the appearance of type II diabetes in predisposed individuals.

Diabetes influences the affected worker:

Partially limiting their capabilities: Cardiovascular (myocardial infarction, stroke, peripheral arterial occlusion), neurological (alterations in sensitivity or mobility) or visual (those derived from diabetic retinopathy) complications may appear throughout the life of the patient. diabetic patient and limit, to a greater or lesser extent, the work capacities of the worker or, even, can be aggravated by exposure to the occupational hazards of the job.

Increasing the risk of suffering an accident at work: A hypoglycemic crisis, a possible alteration in the first months of starting the treatment of the disease and frequent in unstable diabetics, appears unexpectedly and can lead to an accident with serious consequences caused by the symptoms that characterize it. The occupational physician must take this into account in view of the risks inherent in the job.

Increasing the risk of suffering complications in their disease: The elements that constitute the scenario in which the worker develops his task can bring risks to the diabetic patient.