Charities are calling for more to be done to tackle diabetes in Scotland.

Diabetes Scotland is concerned about a drop in the number of people with diabetes who receive regular monitoring.

World Diabetes Day aims to raise awareness about the condition and increase diagnosis and support for those living with it.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is when the amount of glucose in your blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly.

This is due to your pancreas not producing any insulin, or not enough insulin, to help glucose enter your body's cells - or the insulin that is produced does not work properly (known as insulin resistance)

If you have diabetes, your body cannot make proper use of this glucose so it builds up in the blood and cannot be used as fuel.

Type 1 and Type 2

Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 10% of all adults with diabetes and is treated by daily insulin doses.

It works as a chemical messenger that helps your body use the glucose in your blood to give you energy.

Nobody knows for sure why the insulin-producing cells have been destroyed but the most likely cause is the body having an abnormal reaction which may be triggered by a virus or other infection.

Type 2 diabetes usually appears in people over the age of 40 and accounts for between 85 and 95% of all people with the condition. It is treated often by improving diet and physical activity.

In this form, there is not enough insulin (or the insulin is not working properly), so the cells are only partially unlocked and glucose builds up in the blood.

Children

About 31,500 of UK children and young people under the age of 19 have diabetes. The vast majority of them have Type 1.

Most children are diagnosed with the condition between nine and 14 years of age.

Vital statistics

There are 3.5 million people in the UK diagnosed with diabetes.

An estimated 549,000 people are living with the condition without knowing it.

It is estimated more than one in 16 people in the UK has diabetes (diagnosed or undiagnosed).

In Scotland, 284,122 people are officially registered as having the condition, representing 5.3% of the population.

This is a increase of more than 7000 since the end of 2014.

The number of people living with diabetes in Scotland has increased by almost a third in seven years.

37.2% of those with Type 1 diabetes who had a recorded BMI were overweight. For Type 2, the figure is 31.5%.

Who is at risk?

Type 2 diabetes usually appears in middle-aged or older people, although more and more it is being diagnosed in younger overweight people.

Obesity is the main risk factor for Type 2. It accounts for 80-85% of the overall risk.

Almost two in every three people in the UK are overweight or obese (59% of women and 68% of men).

The condition is also linked to deprivation and is more prevalent in those of certain ethnic backgrounds.

What are the dangers?

Properly treated and managed, the risk of complications can be reduced and many with diabetes live long, full lives.

Traditionally, half of those who were diagnosed had started to experience some complications but this is thought to have decreased since better screening and awareness was developed.

Potential complications can include cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease, stroke and all other diseases of the heart and circulation.

Kidney disease, eye disease, depression, neuropathy (it is thought that half of sufferers have chronic pain), sexual dysfunction and complications in pregnancy are also heavily linked.