Stop diabetes deaths

THE seemingly positive headline from a communication by the Western Cape Ministry of Health hides the appalling news that more than 10% of people over 65 years old die of diabetes in the province, the top cause of death in that age group. An underestimated figure, as many heart attacks and strokes, registered as such on death certificates, often have undisclosed diabetes as a major causative component.

Type 2 diabetes – from which certain of our Cape communities suffer at least two or three times the national prevalence – is not an easily preventable “disease of lifestyle”.

When poorly controlled, as it is in the majority of our patients, it is a relentless, progressive, multifactorial disease leading to horrendous complications such as amputations, kidney failure, blindness, early heart attacks and strokes and, as revealed by Statistics SA, it is now the most common cause of death in over-65s.

However well intentioned, the integrated approach to increase wellness and fight social ills – part of our Provincial Strategy Goal 3 – will do little to improve the health of diabetes sufferers.

They urgently require an enhanced awareness of the severity of their disease (how much more than 10.4% do we need?) and a targeted primary care programme to enhance early diagnosis, access expert treatment, and empower community nurses and lay workers focusing on early screening and treatment of complications.

We have the knowledge, we have the means… we need high-level decisions and a combined approach to offer universal access to optimal care by joining the forces of academia, government, nursing, community leaders and the pharmaceutical industry in reducing our devastating morbidity and mortality rates. Francois Bonnici Past vice-president International Diabetes Federation