Kumasi, Nov. 22, GNA – A total of 21 adults out of 226 screened for diabetes in Kumasi, on this year’s World Diabetes Day, may have lost either their limbs or lives prematurely, had they not participated in a free outdoor Diabetes Screening programme.
They were found to be living with diabetes mellitus or type 2 diabetes, without their knowing.
The newly-diagnosed were given first line treatment and asked to continue with the treatment at the health facilities.
This was during a free public outdoor screening programme, arranged by the Diabetes Centre of Excellence, a one-stop specialist diabetes care hub at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), the nation’s second largest referral centre.
Two separate screening events were held at the Suame Light Industrial Area (Magazine) and the Jubilee Park at Asem, all in metropolis, to commemorate the World Diabetes Day held globally under the theme; “Family and Diabetes”, to highlight on the need for families to be supportive of sufferers in the family.
The occasion also focused on raising awareness about the causes of diabetes which includes, family history, obesity and unhealthy lifestyles among others.
The aim was to help create awareness of the metabolic disease - one of the commonest and debilitating non-communicable diseases, with a high death toll in the world, mostly described by medical experts as the ‘silent killer’.
Dr. Osei Sarfo Kantanka, Head of the Centre, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said about 70 per cent of those having diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa, “do not know they have the condition and this is due to lower screening and detection rates”.
However, early detection has been found to be crucial in the treatment and management of the condition, which when not diagnosed early enough, could lead to high blood sugar levels.
This occurs when the body’s pancreas produces too little insulin or the insulin produced cannot be utilized effectively by the body to produce energy, he said.
When this happens, he said, the affected person stood the risk of having the liver, kidney, heart, eye and nerves damaged, leading in most cases to strokes and limb amputations.
Though symptoms includes frequent urination, thirst and hunger, weight loss, sores that would not heal and extreme fatigue, others might have the disease and might not be observant enough to know the symptoms during early stages.
Dr. Sarfo called on the public to always go for regular medical checks, aerobic exercises, do away with smoking and too much alcohol whiles also eating very well to avoid obesity in both adult and children to prevent the condition.
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