Jamaicans Urged to Place More Emphasis on Prevention of Diabetes

Jamaicans have been urged to place more emphasis on the prevention, detection and treatment of diabetes.

The call was made by Diabetes Day Activities Coordinator for St. James, Nurse Heather McGrath, at a church service held at the Lighthouse of Faith Ministries International in Montego Bay, on Sunday, November 13 to mark World Diabetes Day, Monday, November 14, under the theme ‘Education to Protect Tomorrow’.

Sharing statistics from the International Diabetes Federation, Nurse McGrath stated that in 2021, approximately 531 million adults 20 to 79 years old were estimated to be living with diabetes.

“Of this number, 75 per cent of these individuals are living in low- and middle-income countries. The prevalence of diabetes is estimated to increase by 643 million by 2030 and worse statistics, by 783 million in 2045,” she noted.

The Federation also reported that 541 million adults worldwide have impaired glucose tolerance, which means that while individuals have not attained the criteria for being diagnosed with diabetes, they fall in the pre-diabetic category.

Diabetes was responsible for 6.7 million deaths in 2021, which translated to one death every five seconds, and an approximately US$966 million expenditure for 2021 was attributed to the treatment of persons diagnosed with diabetes.

Mrs. McGrath attributed the increase in the prevalence of diabetes to unhealthy lifestyles, which include the lack of physical activities and poor dietary choices.

“We need to garner and start from [the] home. We are talking [to] parents who may be complaining that… it is too much to get up and [prepare] healthy snacks for their children, but that is where we start. We know that diabetes also runs in families, so if you know that your uncle and auntie and sisters and brother have diabetes, then you might be at risk of developing diabetes,” she argued.

“So, one of the days when you’re not too busy, walk into a healthcare facility and get tested for diabetes… because we know that with diabetes there are a myriad of complications and we want to catch you early before you develop the kidney problems and blindness,” Nurse McGrath encouraged.

World Diabetes Day is commemorated on November 14 annually, which, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), is an opportunity to raise awareness about the impact of diabetes on the health of people. It also seeks to highlight the opportunities to strengthen the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes.