An estimated five million Nigerians have diabetes. About half of this
number of persons have their cases diagnosed and even less are under
treatment. This makes Nigeria the country with the highest number of
diabetic patients in Africa. In fact diabetes is the most common
chronic illness that is being managed all over the country.
Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the pancreas is no
longer able to produce insulin, or when the body cannot make good use
of the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas,
that acts like a key to let glucose from the food we eat pass from the
blood stream into the cells in the body to produce energy.
The disease may remain undetected for many years and the diagnosis is
often made when a complication appears or a routine blood or urine
glucose test is done. It is often, but not always, associated with
overweight or obesity, which itself can cause insulin resistance and
lead to high blood glucose levels. People with type 2 diabetes can
often initially manage their condition through exercise and diet.
However, over time most people will require oral drugs and or insulin.
In Nigeria, an estimated five million people are suffering from
diabetes. If this sounds bad, experts warn that the scenario is likely
to get even worse as the number of diabetics is expected to double
within the next 20 years, to the extent that 63 percent of undiagnosed
and many that are diagnosed are not being correctly controlled. As
much as 76 percent of deaths due to diabetes occur in people under the
age of 60 in Africa. The bad news continues.
That the cost of diabetes management is prohibitive and gradually
increasing is equally worrisome. Already, most patients seen at
Federal and state teaching and specialist hospitals are often at the
late stage when effective treatment is too late and only palliative
measures can be administered.
What is the community doing about diabetes? What is it doing to
subsidise some of the drugs for its treatment? What about the
availability, and education of the public and at community level?
Just last week, some medical experts expressed concern over the burden
of diabetic disorders and the rising cost of its management in the
country.
Consultant Physician/Endocrinologist, Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU,
Ile Ife, Osun State, Prof. Babatope Kolawole, said the magnitude of
diabetes in the country is too alarming to be ignored. He noted that
according to statistics, the prevalence of diabetes varies. It is a
disease of urbanisation and from previous studies, the highest burden
is in Lagos which has a prevalence of over 7 percent per population.
Kolawole blamed urbanisation and lifestyle factors as well as physical
exercise as factors driving the epidemic and recommends that reliable
preventive measures must target these. "Diabetes is a risk factor for
so many other problems, and also contributes a lot to disorders such
as kidney disease, blindness and amputation of the foot in Nigeria. It
can precipitate emergencies that can lead to death and these are the
issues related to poorly treated or untreated diabetes and no effort
should be spared in instituting preventive measures at all levels of
healthcare delivery in the country."
On his own, the Chief Medical Director, Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Prof. Adewale Oke, said most diabetes cases
seen at the hospital are in the late stage. "The commonest
complications I see involve the blood vessels and the heart. It is a
common cause of myocardial infarction and can affect the heart
muscles. There can be heart failure, and renal failure. When you are
passing too much water without any explanation, you should
investigate," he urged.
Oke, an experienced cardiologist noted that Lagos State is thinking of
starting a health insurance scheme to cover diabetes. "It has been
read at the state House of Reps. but is yet to be passed, and once
that is happening there will be better for management of diabetes
especially in the area of drugs for management."
One of the big worries about diabetes, according to Dr. Dorothy
Esangbedo, an experienced paediatrician and renowned endocrinologist,
is the increasing burden of diabetes in infants and children.
Esangbedo, who is also President, Union of National African Paediatric
Societies and Associations, UNAPSA, regretted that even infants and
children are not spared the burden of diabetes.
Read more at Vanguard here:
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