One out of every five adult Filipinos is diabetic, according to the latest national survey on the prevalence of the disease.
Compared to a decade ago, more Filipino children may now be at risk of contracting diabetes due to the growing cases of childhood obesity, among other factors, according to a panel of doctors who presented the findings recently.
The survey conducted last year by the Philippine Cardiovascular Outcome Study on Diabetes Mellitus also found that as many as three out of five adults may already be diabetic or on the verge of becoming one unless they change their lifestyle.
The 1998 survey showed 3.9 percent of the adult population, or persons aged 30 and above are diabetic. The figure rose sharply to 20.6 percent in the 2007 survey. This is quite high according to the study.
Dr. Tommy Ty Willing, president of Diabetes Philippines, said Type 2 diabetes generally afflicts adults “but more and more of this kind are being diagnosed in children.” He cited cases of high school students already found with Type 2 diabetes.
If diabetes goes undetected in early childhood, it can either prove fatal or result in serious brain damage, Dr. Willing said.
Diabetes is a metabolic disease in which the body is unable to produce or properly use insulin, a hormone needed to convert sugar into energy. This leads to an increase in the sugar level in the blood. Complications include blindness, kidney failure, stroke, heart attack, wounds that would not heal, and impotence.
Diabetes has several warning signs – frequent urination, excessive thirst, and unexplained weight loss. Children of diabetics are at risk of diabetes, and so are people suffering from obesity, hypertension, and high cholesterol levels. Lack of exercise, or living a sedentary lifestyle, has also been found to play a role in causing the disease. |
