A Review on Recent Pharmacotherapeutic Advancements in the Prevention of Diabetes Mellitus Complications

Abstract

Diabetes is one of the largest global health emergencies of this century, ranking among the 10 leading causes of mortality together with cardiovascular disease (CVD), respiratory disease, and cancer. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for 74% of deaths globally in 2019, of which, diabetes resulted in 1.6 million deaths, thus becoming the ninth leading cause of death globally.  The etiology of diabetes is believed to be multifactorial. Many individual-level nonmodifiable risk factors like genetic, age, ethnicity, and family history have been prospectively associated with type 2 diabetes, but the increases in prevalence in most populations have probably been driven by a modifiable risk factors including sedentary lifestyle and/or lack of exercise, increasing prevalence of overweight/obesity, unhealthy diets and exposure to environmental pollutants, altered intrauterine environment can elevate the risk of diabetes mellitus. By the year 2035, nearly 592 million people are predicted to die of diabetes. Diabetes is a progressive disorder that leads to serious complications, which are associated with increased costs to the family, community, and healthcare system. Uncontrolled diabetes leads to increased risk of vascular disease and much of the burden of type 2 diabetes is caused by macrovascular and microvascular complications. Diabetes has already become a leading threat to public health globally and the picture becomes grimmer for the low- and middle-income countries like India, where the burden has risen significantly in recent decades and will continue to rise in the coming decades. This could have a great influence on morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes and, thus, on the overall healthcare expenditure in India. To curb the epidemic of diabetes and its associated complications, there is a need for a multipronged strategy involving early diagnosis of diabetes, screening for its complications, and offering optimal therapy at all levels of care for those who already have diabetes and primary prevention of diabetes in those with prediabetes.