Diabetes cases alarming in Iloilo

ShutterStock image

ILOILO CITY -– The city and province of Iloilo were included as sites in last year’s survey of diabetes cases and the result showed an alarming situation.

This was disclosed by diabetes expert, Dr. Francis Pasaporte, president of the Diabetes Philippines Iloilo chapter, during a media forum on diabetes sponsored by Abbott Nutrition.

A diabetologist and diabetes educator based in Iloilo, Pasaporte is a faculty of the Institute for Studies on Diabetes Foundation in Marikina City.

Pasaporte said that diabetes is a disease for life and is now a growing health problem in the country affecting lives of 9.7 percent of the adult population and the 12.5 percent of Filipinos at risk of the disease with impaired glucose tolerance.

Combined, 1 out of 5 Filipino adults or an estimated 11 million has either prediabetes or diabetes. The figure showed that Iloilo has the same trend on diabetes showing 1 out of 5 Ilonggos have diabetes, Pasaporte said.

The Department of Health (DOH) posted diabetes as the 8th top cause of disease-related deaths in the country in 2009, cardiovascular diseases spawned by diabetes are the major cause of death accounting for approximately half of all diabetes fatalities.

While the disease is preventable and controllable, however it is not curable if the disease is already with the person. People with diabetes have a higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke and there is a big link between diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

Pasaporte said people with diabetes have diabetic macular edema that develops into moderate vision loss or eye complications. Kidney disease or nephropathy occurs in approximately one third of diabetics and diabetes has become the most frequent condition of people with kidney failure.

Nerve damage or neuropathy attacks half of people with diabetes especially depression. Hypertension or high blood pressure is caused when the blood moves through the vessels with too much force. High blood pressure raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, eye problems and kidney diseases.

Diabetes also caused skin complications such as bacterial infections, fungal infections and itching that may lead to amputations.

Pasaporte said there are two types of diabetes which can attack young people. These are Type 1 or the viral but non infectious diabetes and Type 2 which is genetic and hereditary.