A total of 642 million people will be diabetic by 2040

MBOMBELA – As many as 415 million people currently live with diabetes across the world. This is according to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF).

The federation said the figure is expected to grow to 642 million people by 2040.

In a bid to prevent this, World Diabetes Month is celebrated each November, to raise awareness of the disease, its symptoms and possible prevention.

Also read:Diabetes: Know the facts

More worrisome is the fact that the IDF Diabetes Atlas estimated that there are currently more than half a million children aged 14 and younger living with type 1 diabetes.

This type usually begins in childhood and is caused by a faulty autoimmune response that causes the body to destroy the pancreatic cells that produce insulin.

A further 318 million adults are estimated to have impaired glucose tolerance which puts them at high risk of developing diabetes, a disease that has already killed more people than HIV/Aids, TB and malaria combined.

Also read: Dietecians run 63km for diabetes 

Diabetes is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease, blindness, renal failure and lower-limb amputation. More than a third of type 1 and -2 diabetics will also develop damage to their eyes that can lead to blindness.

Lilly South Africa (a global healthcare company) is encouraging people to educate themselves about the risk factors of diabetes, and to proactively screen for type 2 diabetes in a bid to reduce the risk of complications.

“A person with type 2 diabetes can live for several years without showing any symptoms of this chronic disease, during which time high and uncontrolled blood glucose can cause significant damage in the body,” explained Dr Ntsiki Molefe-Osman from the organisation.

“There is an urgent need to screen, diagnose and provide appropriate treatment to people with diabetes, as well as screen for complications as it forms an essential part of managing both type 1 and -2 diabetes.”

The symptoms for type 2 include excessive thirst, frequent urination, persistently dry skin, which blurred vision and drowsiness.

According to resident sister at the I’langa Mopani Pharmacy, Beth de Kock, people need to visit their local clinics to do tests to check if they have the disease. She mentioned that 10 to 15 people are tested at the pharmacy every week.

“When we find evidence of the disease in a patient’s blood we refer them to a GP who will do further tests to confirm its presence,” she said.

While awaiting the results, which sometimes take two to three weeks, the GP will prescribe medication to the patient and recommend a diet to reduce the symptoms.

De Kock said since the disease is chronic it is better to go for tests so that treatment can commence. “With a good balanced diet and treatment it is still possible to live a long life,” she said.

In comparison, she said women struggle to maintain their diet and sugar levels compared to men.

She added that, over the years, they had seen an increase in people who voluntary visit the clinic for diabetes tests.

“The fact that people are more aware of the disease creates a curiosity in them to find out if they are affected or not,” she said.