Doctors Say Millions Worldwide Suffer From Diabetes
世卫组织警告糖尿病将成全球流行病
The World Health Organization estimates that 346 million people globally suffer from diabetes. Most of them live in low- and middle-income countries. The WHO projects that if current trends continue, deaths from the disease could double by 2030, and health experts warn it could become a global epidemic, with significant health and economic consequences.
世界卫生组织估计，全球有3.46亿人患有糖尿病，其中多数生活在中低收入国家。世卫组织指出，如果这种趋势继续下去，到2030年，因糖尿病而死亡的人数将会翻倍，健康专家警告这将是全球性的流行病，会产生重大的健康和经济后果。
Dr. Sue Kirkman is the acting chief medical officer for the American Diabetes Association. She said millions of people live with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.
Sue Kirkman博士是美国糖尿病协会的首席医学官员，她说，数以百万的人患有2型糖尿病，这是最常见的糖尿病类型。
“We tend to think of epidemics as infectious diseases, but we are now having an epidemic of diabetes worldwide,” she said. “In the U.S., at least one in four people with type 2 diabetes are undiagnosed. We don’t really know worldwide, but presumably is probably higher in many countries.”
她说：“我们通常总是把流行病归为感染性疾病，但是现在，糖尿病已经成为全球性的流行病。”“在美国，每四人中至少有一人患有未被确诊的2型糖尿病，我们不知道全世界的情况，但可估计在许多国家，这个比例要更高。”
Type 2 diabetes impairs the body's ability to use insulin, the hormone that regulates blood sugar. The disease can damage the heart, eyes, kidneys and nerves.
2型糖尿病损害人体使用胰岛素的功能，胰岛素是一种调节血糖的激素。这种疾病会损害心脏、眼睛、肾脏和神经。
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the cost of diabetes in the United States is about $174 billion per year, mostly for treatment of complications and disabilities.
据美国疾病控制与预防中心的数字，在美国，治疗糖尿病每年要花费1740亿美元，主要用在并发症和残疾的治疗上。
Dr. Ann Albright, who heads the CDC's Diabetes Division, said, “The projections for diabetes today in the U.S.: one in 10 has diabetes; when we look out to 2050 that may become as high as one in three that may have diabetes.”
Ann Albright博士是疾病控制与预防中心糖尿病分部的主任，她说：“估计在美国，每十个人中就有一个患糖尿病，到2050年，这个比率将会达到三分之一。”
Albright said more than 50 million people in India have diabetes, followed by 40 million in China, and about 26 million in the U.S. Nearly 90 percent of these cases are type 2 diabetes, and are closely related to obesity, aging, and racial and ethnic factors.
Albright说，印度有至少5000万人患有糖尿病，仅次其后的是中国，有4000万，美国有2600万。其中有90%的患病是2型糖尿病，与肥胖、老年、种族和民族都有关系。
“It’s important to point out that those of Asian descent, southeast Asian in particular, develop diabetes at a lower body weight,” she noted.
“需要指出的是，亚洲族裔尤其是东南亚人，没有过量体重仍会发病，”她说。
Scientists say obesity and lack of exercise contribute to the increased number of cases, as do earlier diagnosis and people living longer.
科学家说，肥胖和缺少锻炼使发病人数增加，而及早诊断可以提高寿命。
Dr. Myrlene Staten, a senior adviser for the Diabetes Research Division at the National Institutes of Health, said, “One of the big concerns of diabetes today is that type 2 diabetes did not occur in children 30 years ago, or it was rarely seen. But as children in America have become heavier, we are now starting to recognize type 2 diabetes in children, especially in children of minority populations, largely African-American and Hispanic.”
Myrlene Staten博士是全国卫生研究院糖尿病研究所的高级顾问，“如今对糖尿病最大的担忧是，30年前，儿童不会患有2型糖尿病，或者很少见。但美国儿童越来越胖，如今已在儿童人群中发现患有2型糖尿病，特别是少数族裔人群，主要是非洲裔美国人和西班牙裔。”
There is no known cure for diabetes, but doctors say making lifestyle changes - such as maintaining a healthy weight by eating right and exercising - is the best way to treat and prevent it.
目前糖尿病尚无治愈手段，但医生说，改变生活方式，比如通过吃清淡食物和锻炼身体以保持适当的体重，这是治疗和预防最好的途径。 |