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Diabetes is one of the four main noncommunicable diseases in Africa and Ghana contributing to the increased burden of disease and mortality.
Basically described as a lifestyle disease, its lifelong socioeconomic impact is why health experts continue to insist that if we make healthy lifestyle choices, we could reduce our vulnerability by at least one 90 percent.
Risk factors for NCDs include an unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, tobacco use, passive smoking, excessive alcohol use, and aging.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) warns that unhealthy diets and lack of physical activity can manifest in people as high blood pressure, increased blood glucose, increased blood lipids, and obesity.
In recent times, the GHS says there has been a sharp increase in the prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among people aged 50-60 in the country, but assured people that the problem could be solved if they started to choose healthy lifestyles. .
In addition to the anticipated behavioral risks, environmental and socioeconomic factors such as air pollution, climate change, trade agreements, and the aggressive marketing of unhealthy products such as soft drinks, junk food, alcohol and tobacco, among other products, were accelerating the NCD epidemic.
National situation
It is estimated that 34% of deaths and 31% of the burden of disease in the country are due to NCDs.
It is estimated that 86,200 people die annually, almost 55.5% of the dead are under 70 years of age and 58% are men.
According to the statistics available to the GHS, the death rate from NCDs in the country was 817 per 100,000 for men and 595 per 100,000 for women.
Because the disease could only be controlled and not fully treated, she said it was important for people with diabetes to engage in active physical activities to reduce the impact of the disease on them.
The day
In 1991, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) instituted World Diabetes Day (WDD), in response to growing concerns about the growing health threat posed by diabetes.
WDD became an official United Nations Day in 2006 with the passage of a United Nations resolution.
The day is the world’s largest diabetes awareness campaign reaching a global audience of over one billion people in more than 160 countries and drawing attention to issues of utmost importance to the world of diabetes, and maintaining diabetes firmly in the public and political spotlight.
The day is marked every year on November 14, which is the birthday of Sir Frederick Banting, who co-discovered insulin, along with Charles Best, in 1922.
The theme for WDD 2020 is “The Nurse and Diabetes” and the goal is to raise awareness of the critical role nurses play in supporting people living with diabetes.
Diabetes and COVID-19
The GHS says 95 percent of all COVID-19-related deaths locally are due to comorbidities, meaning they had other health conditions that complicated their situation and led to death.
It says that NCDs, including diabetes, were the main risk factors for severe disease and mortality in COVID-19 patients.
“These two epidemics are closely connected and act synergistically on morbidity and mortality: people with NCDs are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 and death; COVID-19 and NCDs share a common set of underlying risk factors, including deprivation, obesity, old age and ethnicity, “said Dr. Aboagye.
Therefore, he has advised Ghanaians to practice healthy lifestyles to halt the prevalence of NCDs, reduce their vulnerability to COVID-19, and help mitigate the impact of the global pandemic on the national response to COVID-19.
Review of collaborators
Contributing to the article, consultant vitreo-retinal surgeon, Dr. Asiwome Kwesi Seneadza, and business developer, Dr. Michell Asima Francis, all from Agarwal Eye Hospital write that the body’s ability to produce the required amount of a hormone called insulin to control glucose levels in the blood cause diabetes, which then leads to major organ problems such as eye complications.
Generally speaking, there are two types of diabetes: type one requires the daily administration of artificial insulin by injection or an insulin pump.
Type 2 is managed more generally by a combination of diet control and medication in tablet form.
Diabetes is one of the leading causes of blindness, kidney failure, heart attacks, strokes, and lower limb amputation. In 2016, an estimated 1.6 million deaths were directly caused by diabetes. Another 2.2 million deaths were attributed to hyperglycemia in 2012.
Complications
The eye is the earliest and most common complication of diabetic disease compared to other complications.
Therefore, those living with the disease are at high risk of losing their sight if proper care is not taken. Diabetic eye disease, among others, includes cataracts, which is a clouding of the lens of the eye.
Adults with diabetes are two to five times more likely to develop cataracts, and it also tends to occur at a younger age in people with diabetes. Glaucoma is another disease that damages the eye’s optic nerve, the bundle of nerve fibers that connects the eye to the brain. Some types of glaucoma are associated with high pressure inside the eye. In adults, diabetes almost doubles the risk of glaucoma.
Diabetic retinopathy affects the blood vessels in the light-sensitive tissue called the retina that lines the back of the eye.
As a result, the blood supply to the retina from these damaged blood vessels is reduced or cut off.
In response to a lack of blood supply, the eye can create growth factors that lead to diabetic macular edema, which can lead to decreased vision or proliferative diabetic retinopathy, which can lead to retinal detachment and loss of vision.
Diabetic retinopathy is one of the most common causes of vision loss among people with diabetes and the leading cause of visual impairment and blindness among the workforce.
Keeping blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels at or near normal can help delay or prevent complications from diabetes. Therefore, people with diabetes need regular monitoring. All forms of diabetic eye disease have the potential to cause severe vision loss and blindness.
Symptoms
It is possible to have diabetic retinopathy for a long time without noticing symptoms until substantial damage has been done.
Symptoms may include blurred vision, difficulty reading, the appearance of spots, known as “floaters” in vision. A person with diabetic retinopathy may also notice a shadow in the field of vision, pain or pressure in the eyes, or difficulty with color perception.
Some patients may experience partial or total loss of vision. It is important to note that diabetic retinopathy usually affects both eyes.
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