One in five adults in Barbados have diabetes

ONE in five adults in Barbados, or about 18.7 per cent, have diabetes.

This is coming from the Minster of Health, John Boyce, who delivered remarks at the World Health Day 2016 launch on Wednesday evening at the Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) headquarters.

Stating that these findings came from the ‘Health of the Nation Study,’ the findings of which were released in 2015, he said that the administration and the Ministry of Health recognise the importance of evidence-based research as it relates to decision making, and as a result, it is with thin in mind that this Ministry has committed itself to carrying out risk factor surveys on a regular basis.

“Our approach, therefore, has been to ensure that the evidence base necessary to support such policymaking is available. In this regard, the Ministry of Health has made a commitment to conducting risk factor surveys on a regular basis. The ‘Health of the Nation Study,’ the findings of which were released in 2015, revealed that one in five adults in Barbados, or about 18.7 per cent, has diabetes.”

The Minister of Health said that what is of greater concern is that there are about 20 per cent of adults in this country who have this condition and are not even aware of it; that almost half of persons over the age of 65 have this condition and that when it comes to treatment, over 60 per cent were improperly managed.

“What is worrisome is that this condition goes undetected in about 20 per cent of adults. For those above the age of 65 years, almost half have diabetes.

“The study further revealed that of those who were on treatment for diabetes, over 60 per cent were poorly controlled. All of these figures represent increases over the findings of the 2007 Risk Factor Survey.

“The Ministry of Health is of the opinion that the major driver of this epidemic is obesity, both in adults and children.”

He added that in order to curb these high figures, early detection and screening interventions would be imperative.

“These findings have very serious implications for all of us. They indicate that persons at risk for diabetes, and those with pre-diabetes, need to be identified early through screening interventions, using traditional risk factors such as advanced age, family history, presence of hypertension, and being overweight or obese. In addition, diabetes treatment must be implemented early to prevent complications such as lower limb amputations, blindness and neuropathy.”

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