We must acknowledge the scale of the problem facing us

THE WORLD Health Organization tells us that globally, some 422 million people have diabetes – the majority of whom are from low- and middleincome countries such as our own – while 1.6 million deaths are directly attributed to the disease.

In Jamaica, the data tell its own story. The 2016-2017 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey reveals that one in every eight Jamaicans, 15 years and older, has diabetes. Yet, four out of every 10 individuals with the disease are unaware that they have it.

In 2016, 2,339 persons died from diabetes i n Jamaica, accounting for 12.7 per cent of all deaths. Yet, while 92.5 per cent (91.3 per cent males, 93.0 per cent females) of Jamaicans 15 years and older with the disease are on treatment, only 27.5 per cent (29.0 per cent males, 27.0 per cent females) are controlled.

At the same time, one in two Jamaicans are overweight or obese, a known modifiable risk factor for diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to which even our children are not immune. Risk factors such as increases in the consumption of sweetened beverages, limited fruit and water intake, in addition to low physical activity levels have been found to be significantly associated with overweight/ obesity among children age six to 10 years.

The Global School-Based Health Surveys (GSHS, 2010 and 2017) indicate that the rates of overweight and obesity are trending upwards, with an overall increase in rates among adolescents in the last decade. Still, nearly 50 per cent of Jamaican students consume carbonated beverages or sweetened beverages two or more times per day (Jamaica Youth Risk and Resiliency Behaviour Survey, 2007; GSHS 2010 and 2017). Additionally, 68 per cent of our students age 13-15 years are reported to drink carbonated drinks one or more times per day (GSHS, 2017).

As we turn the spotlight on diabetes this November, we must acknowledge the scale of the problem facing us and redouble our efforts to solve it, drawing on all our resources – including our nurses who are essential, not only as healthcare providers, but also as professionals on whom we can rely for the promotion of self-care management among patients.

Our nurses also play a role in helping to safeguard the mental health of their diabetic patients – from identifying emergent psychosocial to making the appropriate interventions to support their patients. This year’s theme for World Diabetes Day, ‘Diabetes: Nurses make a difference’, is, therefore, most appropriate – and in a year designated as the Year of the Nurse.

This World Diabetes Day, we encourage stakeholders – from persons living with diabetes to their family and friends and others involved in their care management – to join our nurses in the effort to ensure the best possible health outcomes for persons with diabetes and to, as far as possible, engage in behaviours to reduce the incidence of diabetes and other NCDs. Those behaviours include increased physical activity, a healthy diet, routine health checks, and strict medication adherence.

DR THE HON CHRISTOPHER TUFTON Minister of Health & Wellness