I do think and wondered why some “healthy”
people suddenly come down with chronic disease conditions like heart
attack, stroke, kidney failure or a “strange illness” that soon leads to
leg amputation or ultimately, death?
Well, it may be for reasons not unconnected with diabetes mellitus, experts have said.
Diabetes, unlike other non-communicable diseases, has no warning signs, “which makes it worst,” says Dr Kunle Adeyemi-Doro, an Endocrinologist.
According to him, “By the time the first set of symptoms show up, organs in the body are already affected, and in some cases damaged.”
So, most patients that present in the hospitals, are first aware of their diabetic condition after they’ve had complications like stroke, kidney failure, heart attack, impotence, blindness and so on. “By the time they come to the hospital with these ‘signs’, there is very little we can do,” he said.
Meanwhile, The Sonny Kuku Foundation (TSKF) has planned to set up Diabetes Clinics all over the six geopolitical zones of the country. The measure is enhance proper diabetes diagnosis, care services and education on the disease.
Adeyemi-Doro, who spoke at a media workshop organised by Healthways Communication and TSKF, in commemoration of this year’s World Diabetes Day in Lagos, noted that diabetes is the biggest challenge for the health system today.
But an accompanying challenge, which makes the problem worst, is lack of awareness and education about diabetic epidemic.
The expert who spoke on the topic: ‘Diabetes epidemic: The epidemiology and care of people living with diabetes’ noted that though the problem was not exclusive to Nigeria alone, but the black race and developing countries are worst-hit by diabetes epidemic.
Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. This leads to accumulation of glucose in the blood, which makes the blood function abnormally.
Globally, it is one of the major health and development challenges of the 21st century. There are currently 371 million people living with diabetes and another 280 million are at high risk of developing the disease. Half a billion people are expected to be living with diabetes by 2030.
Adeyemi-Doro, physician at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), observed that there is currently no family in the country that is not affected by the disease. It is quite interesting to note is that “everyone will have the disease, depending on how long we live.”
So, “It, therefore, behooves on all to create the necessary awareness and right policies that will help in delaying the onset, early diagnosis and preventive measures in the communities.
Larger number of people in the country are undiagnosed, not treated properly and that is where the major challenge is.”
While Nigerian children that are affected by Diabetes Type I are not small in size, Type II diabetes, among adults and elderly, poses bigger challenge to the health system.
In fact, Type II diabetes group, constitute 92 per cent of the entire burden. It is, therefore, instructive for “all Nigerians, especially men, above 40 years to check their blood sugar level once a year.”
The advice also goes to those with family history of diabetes, as much as they must be wary of obesity, sedentary lifestyle, hypertension and high cholesterol level.
Adeyemi-Doro said: “The most common symptom of DM is that it is asymptomatic. People with the condition would only show up when they have complications like stroke, blindness, heart attack, kidney failure, impotence, and vascular disease among others.
“But these are diseases no one wants. Which is why we have to detect them early and properly treat the condition. With needed insulin injection and its’ proper usage, our diabetic adults can live another 50 years or more in good health.
“As diabetes incidences are increasing in developing countries like ours, it poses more severe problem for our future. It has no known cure, but kills faster than imagined.
This is why we should not only focus on treatment, but preventive measures at the community level; providing good infrastructure that enables physical activities, healthy eating habits, cutting down on fat and oil diet and clampdown on junk foods. The more obese we are, the more at risk we are at the mercy of diabetes,” he said.
Given the enormity of the challenge, member of the TSKF Board of Trustee, Kunle Ogunsanya, added that the media had a major role to play if the diabetes awareness campaign must be effective.
He said the foundation would be unrelenting in its’ crusade against sickle cell disease, diabetes and other silent killers of children and young adults of the black African race.
As part of this effort, TSKF has helped in training over 450 doctors and nurse on diabetes care, besides setting and running of a Diabetes Support Centre in Ikorodu general hospital and other institutions in the state, in collaboration with Novo Nordisk.
Ogunsanya said: “In the days ahead, we plan to donate life saving medical equipment to health institutions across the country. We will be setting up diabetes clinics all over the six geopolitical zones of the country, while we facilitate the formation of sickle cell and diabetes club,” he said.
Well, it may be for reasons not unconnected with diabetes mellitus, experts have said.
Diabetes, unlike other non-communicable diseases, has no warning signs, “which makes it worst,” says Dr Kunle Adeyemi-Doro, an Endocrinologist.
According to him, “By the time the first set of symptoms show up, organs in the body are already affected, and in some cases damaged.”
So, most patients that present in the hospitals, are first aware of their diabetic condition after they’ve had complications like stroke, kidney failure, heart attack, impotence, blindness and so on. “By the time they come to the hospital with these ‘signs’, there is very little we can do,” he said.
Meanwhile, The Sonny Kuku Foundation (TSKF) has planned to set up Diabetes Clinics all over the six geopolitical zones of the country. The measure is enhance proper diabetes diagnosis, care services and education on the disease.
Adeyemi-Doro, who spoke at a media workshop organised by Healthways Communication and TSKF, in commemoration of this year’s World Diabetes Day in Lagos, noted that diabetes is the biggest challenge for the health system today.
But an accompanying challenge, which makes the problem worst, is lack of awareness and education about diabetic epidemic.
The expert who spoke on the topic: ‘Diabetes epidemic: The epidemiology and care of people living with diabetes’ noted that though the problem was not exclusive to Nigeria alone, but the black race and developing countries are worst-hit by diabetes epidemic.
Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has high blood sugar, either because the pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not respond to the insulin that is produced. This leads to accumulation of glucose in the blood, which makes the blood function abnormally.
Globally, it is one of the major health and development challenges of the 21st century. There are currently 371 million people living with diabetes and another 280 million are at high risk of developing the disease. Half a billion people are expected to be living with diabetes by 2030.
Adeyemi-Doro, physician at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), observed that there is currently no family in the country that is not affected by the disease. It is quite interesting to note is that “everyone will have the disease, depending on how long we live.”
So, “It, therefore, behooves on all to create the necessary awareness and right policies that will help in delaying the onset, early diagnosis and preventive measures in the communities.
Larger number of people in the country are undiagnosed, not treated properly and that is where the major challenge is.”
While Nigerian children that are affected by Diabetes Type I are not small in size, Type II diabetes, among adults and elderly, poses bigger challenge to the health system.
In fact, Type II diabetes group, constitute 92 per cent of the entire burden. It is, therefore, instructive for “all Nigerians, especially men, above 40 years to check their blood sugar level once a year.”
The advice also goes to those with family history of diabetes, as much as they must be wary of obesity, sedentary lifestyle, hypertension and high cholesterol level.
Adeyemi-Doro said: “The most common symptom of DM is that it is asymptomatic. People with the condition would only show up when they have complications like stroke, blindness, heart attack, kidney failure, impotence, and vascular disease among others.
“But these are diseases no one wants. Which is why we have to detect them early and properly treat the condition. With needed insulin injection and its’ proper usage, our diabetic adults can live another 50 years or more in good health.
“As diabetes incidences are increasing in developing countries like ours, it poses more severe problem for our future. It has no known cure, but kills faster than imagined.
This is why we should not only focus on treatment, but preventive measures at the community level; providing good infrastructure that enables physical activities, healthy eating habits, cutting down on fat and oil diet and clampdown on junk foods. The more obese we are, the more at risk we are at the mercy of diabetes,” he said.
Given the enormity of the challenge, member of the TSKF Board of Trustee, Kunle Ogunsanya, added that the media had a major role to play if the diabetes awareness campaign must be effective.
He said the foundation would be unrelenting in its’ crusade against sickle cell disease, diabetes and other silent killers of children and young adults of the black African race.
As part of this effort, TSKF has helped in training over 450 doctors and nurse on diabetes care, besides setting and running of a Diabetes Support Centre in Ikorodu general hospital and other institutions in the state, in collaboration with Novo Nordisk.
Ogunsanya said: “In the days ahead, we plan to donate life saving medical equipment to health institutions across the country. We will be setting up diabetes clinics all over the six geopolitical zones of the country, while we facilitate the formation of sickle cell and diabetes club,” he said.
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