PUNCH NG - Doctors highlight reasons why more Nigerians are afflicted with diabetes, BUKOLA ADEBAYO writes
Medical personnel in the country have said that Type-2 diabetes is killing more Nigerians than the dreaded HIV/AIDS virus.
Raising the alarm over what they describe
as a looming pandemic, they call on the Federal Government to declare a
health emergency to tackle the scourge.
Although Nigeria lacks an aggregate data,
the physicians state that no fewer than six million Nigerians are
living with diabetes mellitus.
The Registrar at the Diabetes and
Endocrinology Unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba,
Dr. Kunle Adeyemi-Doro, says government should, as a matter of urgency,
formulate a national policy for the control of the disease in the
country.
During a recent workshop organised by a
non-governmental organisation, The Sunny Kuku Foundation, in
collaboration with Healthways Communications, Adeyemi-Doro, noted that
diabetes accounted for a lot of deaths in Nigeria and other parts of
the world, adding that it was fast becoming the most dreaded disease.
A statement by the International Diabetes
Federation says that between eight and 14 million deaths are caused by
diabetes every year in developing countries.
The statement reads, “In 1985, 30 million
people were living with diabetes. Now, about 366 million have diabetes.
By 2030, 522 million people will have diabetes, that is, if we do not
even surpass it.”
The IDF also predicts that developing
countries such as Nigeria, where there is an acute shortage of health
facilities and medical personnel, would record higher statistics of
people living with this disease in the nearest future.
Adeyemi-Doro says that if government
could initiate a policy for the control of HIV/AIDS, which affects just
3.5 million Nigerians, and establish an agency to implement the plan to
fight the disease, then it should recognise the need to do the same for
diabetes, which is also responsible for the increase in the number of
Nigerians going blind and suffering from stroke and kidney diseases.
The kidney specialist describes diabetes
as a long term disorder that occurs when there is increased level of
glucose (sugar) in the blood due to failure of the pancreas to produce
insulin, the hormone that helps circulate glucose from the blood stream
to other parts of the body.
“There are three types of diabetes, Type
1(from birth), Type 2 diabetes and Gestational diabetes. Type 2 diabetes
is the commonest type in Nigeria. More than six million Nigerians have
diabetes. The situation demands that government should approach its
control the way it is addressing HIV/AIDS and malaria,” he says.
Physicians identify low awareness, lack
of physical exercise and increased consumption of foods high in fats and
sugars as reasons why Nigeria has a high population of people suffering
from diabetes than those living with HIV/AIDS.
The Medical Director of Subol Hospitals,
Idimu, Lagos, Dr. Olayiwola Bello, who spoke when Novo Nordisk and Roche
Diabetes Care inaugurated a diabetes support centre in Lagos State,
expressed worries over unhealthy eating habits among Nigerians.
Bello says, “Nigerians are now eating
differently. We don’t exercise anymore or even eat home cooked meals. It
is either we eat fried or over processed foods that have too much
calories and make us gain excess weight. This is why Nigeria is included
in the pandemic of Type 2 diabetes.”
He explains further that the centre was
established to reach Nigerians suffering from the condition, as well as
to educate the public on the symptoms of the disease.
“Frequent tiredness and weakness could be
early signs of high blood sugar and diabetes. If you are losing weight
without any physical exercise or stress related to work, you may be at a
pre-diabetic stage
“If you urinate too frequently at night
and during the day, you must do a blood sugar test. These are clear
signs of the condition,” he says.
To prevent the disease from spreading
further, Bello recommends that Nigerians should exercise regularly, eat
lesser portions of meals to avoid being obese, and do away with high
calorie foods made from flour, fats and sugars.
However, he advises those who have been
diagnosed with the condition to stick with their medication and stay
away from foods that could increase their blood sugar level.
Bello states, “Diabetes is a self-managed
disease. You are the one that will stop eating foods that contain
glucose, monitor your blood glucose and inject yourself with insulin if
you need it.
“But patients disappear when they are
told they have diabetes and would need insulin injections. Many who
should be taking insulin in Nigeria are not doing so because they don’t
want injections. Bear in mind that you can live for more than 20 years
if you stick to your treatment.”
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