BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WITH regional leaders gathering in Grenada this week for the Regular Heads of Government Meeting, of which Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) is a topic to be discussed, the Federation is recording increasing cases in diabetes.
The increase comes despite the fact that the St. Kitts Diabetes Association is making available more education material to the public on the ailment, Public Relations Officer Dr. Reginald O’Loughlin told SKNVibes.
He made this pronouncement shortly after the Association had concluded one of its quarterly meetings at the Old Boy School on Sunday (Ju.y 2).
Speaking passionately on the topic of diabetes, Dr. O’Loughlin explained that new cases are being discovered on a regular basis.
“We are discovering new diabetics still! Every week that is the unfortunate reality that we are faced with.”
Shockingly, he revealed that many of the new cases are not persons turning up to be screened for diabetes, but other ailments. However, based on the symptoms that many of the patients would relate to him, he recognized that they have diabetes.
Based on that, he had referred many of them to be screened for the ailment, which if not treated properly can lead to complications and may even result in death.
“They are turning up at private facilities or at the public facilities, whether it be the Basseterre Health Center or other such centers. Despite all of the education, despite all of the information that is available, men in particular are staying away from approaching any medical facility in order to determine if they are or they are not.
“One of the reasons for this is that diabetes really does not have any overt symptoms; there is no pain, there are just no symptoms. And the reality is that in St. Kitts, men go to doctors when they are in discomfort, when they are in pain, and diabetes does not hurt.”
Dr. O’Loughlin believes that until the country could address the fact that men continue to abstain from health institutions until it is too late, the problem would continue.
“I suspect that it would continue to be a challenge for us despite our educational efforts and sessions like these…” he noted.
The Association is currently pushing their message within schools, as last year its members focused their attention on the secondary level and this year they have entered the primary level.
The medical doctor suggested that “by catching it early we think that we can impact things that develop as a result of diabetes. So, we don’t want somebody to become diabetic at age 10 and find out at age 25”.
According to the PRO, there are over 1,000 persons living with the ailment in St. Kitts, noting that the Association could not put an exact figure to the number of diabetics living on the island, as many of them go to private practitioners for treatment.
Currently, diabetes and other forms of NCDs, such as hypertension and obesity, are affecting Caribbean member states. At their Heads of Government Meeting last year in Guyana, regional leaders had discussed that topic.
They made several recommendations to combat diabetes and other popular NCDs, including higher taxes on certain imported sugary foods and cutting back on saturated fats.
