3.9 Million Nigerians Are Suffering From Diabetes - IDF

 

Dr Isiavwe

As the world marked the World Diabetes Day last Saturday, a major issue that was thrown up was the shocking revelation that Nigeria topped the chart in Africa with about 3.9million people suffering from the disease.  The Interna­tional Diabetes Federation (IDF) states that no fewer than 387 million people are currently living with diabetes world­wide, Nigeria has been listed as the coun­try with the highest number of people living with the disease in Africa.

The current IDF atlas which provides details of the disease around the world has revealed that as at 2014, there are 3.9 millions Nigerians living with the dis­ease. Not only that, the Federation also estimates that over 11 million Nigerians are currently undiagnosed.

Diabetes is a serious complex condi­tion which can affect the entire body. It occurs when the amount of glucose in an individual’s blood is too high because the body cannot use it properly.

This happens when the pancreas doesn’t produce any or not enough insu­lin, to help glucose enter the body’s cells. It could also be that the insulin that is produced does not work properly, often referred to as insulin resistance.

Medical experts describe insulin as the hormone produced by the pancreas which allows glucose to enter the body’s cells, where it is used as fuel for energy so that the individual can work, play and be active. It is vital for life. Glucose on the other hand, comes from digesting carbo­hydrate and is also produced by the liver.

Diabetes develops when glucose can’t enter the body’s cells to be used as fuel. This happens when either there is no insulin to unlock the cells (described as Type 1 diabetes ) or there is not enough insulin or the insulin is there but not working properly (described as Type 2 diabetes). Thus the glucose stays in the blood and cannot be used as fuel for energy.

The individual thus begins to feel very thirsty, passing more urine than usual and feeling tired all the time.

There’s also unexplained weight loss, itching around the penis or vagina, or frequent episodes of thrush cuts or wounds that heal slow­ly and blurred vision (caused by the lens of the eye becoming dry).

Unfortunately, many people with dia­betes may not even be aware that they have the disease until complications set in. According to IDF, one in two people with diabetes do not know they have the condition. And the number of people with type 2 diabetes is increasing in ev­ery country. Indeed, the Federation esti­mates that the number of people living with the disease will rise to 592 million by 2035.

Sadly, diabetes is more rampant among people in the productive age. In Africa, IDF says 76% of deaths due to diabetes are in people under the age of 60. This is why the Federation has chosen the theme: Halt the diabetes epidemic for the 2015 World diabetes Day.

This is also being echoed in Nigeria by a leading private endocrinology hospital in Lagos, Rainbow Specialist Hosiptal, Lekki which kicked off its World Diabe­tes Day campaign last week. A statement by Dr. Afoke Isiavwe, the hospital’s Med­ical Director said the hospital is offer­free screening to the general public throughout the month of November. The hospital disclosed that the goal of the screening is to help Nigerians who may have the disease but are not aware they have it to detect it early to prevent com­plications and death.

“The IDF atlas reveals that one person dies from diabetes every 6 seconds around the world. Also, in view of the revelation by the Federation that 11 million Nigeri­ans are currently undiagnosed, we think something must be done urgently to ad­dress the ugly situation. This is why we have decided to provide the opportunity for every Nigerian to come forward for the free screening to help reduce unnec­essary death from diabetes, in the coun­try,” the hospital further said.

The statement also announced that the hospital will, on November 14, the World Diabetes Day, hold a free diabetes boot camp, focusing on foot care and nu­trition in diabetes, at Peninsula Hotel Lekki Epe Express Way between 10am and 12 noon.

Experts have also called for the need for specific measures by individuals to prevent diabetes. For instance, making a few lifestyle changes, according to them, could dramatically lower the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Excess weight in particular. has been identified as the single most important cause of type 2 diabetes as research has shown that be­ing overweight increases the chances of developing type 2 diabetes seven fold. Be­ing obese also makes an individual 20 to 40 times more likely to develop diabetes than someone with a healthy weight.

There is also convincing evidence that diet modification could also help. For instance, studies have shown that whole grains protect against diabetes, whereas diets rich in refined carbohydrates lead to increased risk.

Experts say diets made up of white bread, white rice, mashed po­tatoes, donuts, bagels, and many break­fast cereals should be avoided because they contain a high “glycemic index and glycemic load.” That means they cause sustained increase in blood sugar and insulin levels, which in turn may lead to increased diabetes risk.