The prevalence of diabetes is 5.7% in urban Cameroon, with an estimated 1 million people living with the disease, 70% of whom remain undiagnosed.
By Boris Esono Nwenfor
An estimated number of 537 million adults between 20 years to 79 years are living with diabetes
Diabetes, a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces, is a call for concern. According to Key Global Findings in 2021, diabetes is responsible for over 6.7 million deaths in the world with one every five seconds. An estimated number of 537 million adults between 20 years to 79 years old are living with diabetes.
Dr Chenju Williams, a medical doctor at the Mount Mary Hospital said: “Diabetes is a metabolic condition whereby the body is unable to metabolize glucose, whether because of insufficient insulin production or body resistance to production of insulin. There are many types of diabetes but the two most commonly known types are type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Those who are at risk of diabetes vary by the type of diabetes.”
“Now, type 1 diabetes generally runs in some families. They can have type 2 equally runs in some families even more than type 1. People who are obese are at risk of diabetes mellitus. People who have a sedentary lifestyle are at risk of diabetes mellitus.”
Dr Chenju Williams added: “But the most common risk factor is family lineage, whether or not you have a diabetic kidney. The other types are gestational diabetes, diabetes as a result of damage to the pancreas, the diabetes as a result of inability or inborn, whether you're born without some isolated cells of lung cancer produced by insulin.”
This number is predicted to rise to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045, and over three in four adults with diabetes live in low- and middle-income countries. In Cameroon, according to the World Health Organization, the prevalence of diabetes is 5.7% in urban Cameroon, with an estimated 1 million people living with the disease, 70 of whom remain undiagnosed.
“If you have a first-degree relative who is diabetic, you are already at risk of having diabetes. So you just have to make sure you check your glycemia regularly. First, people prone to having diabetes are obese patients,” Dr Chenju Williams said.
“So you have to avoid getting obese and avoid a sedentary lifestyle. So exercises, eating appropriately, like a balanced diet, not eating too much of things which are high in calories like fast food and doing exercises, eating a lot of vegetables, drinking enough water that you can prevent. But if you're predisposed to be diabetic, no matter how much you prevent, you'll be.”
“So regular checking of your glycemia is recommended. Depending on the cause of the diabetes, type 1 and type 2 diabetes have no cure but are treatable. But people have pancreatic insufficiency, whether because of trauma or whether because of medications.”
Individuals need to take care of themselves by carrying out regular exercises to avoid this disease plaguing the world. And for those already living with the disease, it is important to ensure it is properly controlled.
“As soon as the pancreas heals, the diabetes goes away. If it's trauma, as soon as the pancreas heals, the diabetes goes away. But the two major types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2, are not curable but treatable,” Dr Chenju Williams said
