Regarding diabetes, which is said to have about 10 million patients in Japan, the "Japan Diabetes Association" made up of specialist doctors has decided a policy to change the name of the disease, saying that it does not show the actual condition of the disease and has a bad image. .

I would like to propose a new disease name in the future.

Diabetes is a disease in which the blood sugar level continues to be high due to a lack of insulin, a hormone released from the pancreas, leading to complications such as kidney disease, blindness, and neuropathy, and is related to immune abnormalities, overeating, and lack of exercise. is said to wake up.



Diabetes mellitus was originally named for the presence of sugar in the urine of patients. We have decided to change the name of the disease because the word "urine" is viewed as unclean.



According to a questionnaire survey of patients, 90.2% of the approximately 1,100 people had a sense of resistance or discomfort, and 79.8% answered that they should change the name of the disease.



In the future, the association plans to propose a new disease name in collaboration with the Japan Diabetes Society within one to two years, and it is possible to use the common symptom `` hyperglycemia '' as a candidate.

Yutaka Seino, chairman of the association, said, "I think there was no choice but to name the disease in an age when it was not possible to measure blood sugar levels, but it cannot be said to be an accurate name. I would like to take this opportunity to promote understanding."

Origin of the name "diabetes"

According to the Japan Diabetes Association, diabetes is named after the presence of sugar in the patient's urine.



Diabetes is a disease that has been known since BC in history, and the Latin word for "overflow" is applied, and in addition to the English word "diabetes", the French and German names of the disease have the same meaning. It is



In Japan, it has been called ``shuketsu'' since ancient times because of the symptoms of dry throat, and it is said that Fujiwara no Michinaga, a nobleman in the Heian period, was also ``shukatsu''.



During the Edo period, medical knowledge was imported from Holland, and the name of the disease, pisvloed, which means urinary and flood in Dutch, was translated into nyōho. It means that it has become



After that, the disease was diagnosed by examining sugar in urine, etc., and in 1907, the Japanese Society of Internal Medicine unified the name of the disease as diabetes.



Diagnosis of diabetes is now required to measure blood sugar levels, and the Japan Diabetes Association says it is time to review the name to reflect the actual condition of the disease.



According to the Japan Diabetes Association, the academic society will advocate changing the name of the disease, and after that, legal changes will be required, so we would like to cooperate with academic societies and administrative agencies to change the name.