BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AS the world prepares to mark World Diabetes Day on November 14, the St. Kitts Diabetes Association is sounding the alarm about the growing number of cases in the Federation.
The Association will join global partners in raising awareness, but the observance comes at a time when concerns continue to mount about the rising number of people being diagnosed.
Speaking with SKNVibes News, Public Relations Officer of the St. Kitts Diabetes Association, Dr. Reginald O’Loughlin, confirmed that more than 3,000 people in the Federation are currently living with diabetes — a number that could increase as more individuals undergo screening.
“Worldwide, we have over 600 million people, and in St. Kitts, our conservative estimate puts it at in excess of 3,000 persons living with diabetes,” he said.
Dr. O’Loughlin noted that one of the major challenges in St. Kitts and Nevis is that many people are diagnosed only after the disease has already progressed. By that stage, patients are often grappling with kidney failure, amputations, blindness, and other serious complications.
He urged the public to take preventive health advice seriously, adopt healthier eating habits, and engage in regular physical activity.
“Unfortunately, we are still not seeing a decrease, and that is not just speaking locally,” he explained. “The International Diabetes Federation produces an atlas every two years, and based on the data they're collecting, the numbers projected for 2025 are about 600 million.”
Locally, he said medical practitioners are identifying new cases on a weekly basis. Men, in particular, are being diagnosed later than women, often because they delay seeking medical attention.
“So we're getting late diagnoses of persons,” he said. “Even when they have the symptoms — frequent urination, thirst, feeling tired — they put it down to something else.”
He added: “We’re picking up many of these cases, especially among males, at a later stage. And that is resulting in significant numbers of kidney failures, those who end up on dialysis, significant amputations, serious eye disease leading to blindness, and of course strokes and heart attacks — many of these complications linked to poorly controlled diabetes.”
The growing concern is not limited to adults. The Association has found that some school-aged children are already showing signs of being borderline diabetic. Dr. O’Loughlin pointed to the types of foods being sold by vendors near school compounds as a contributing factor.
Meanwhile, discussions continue around increasing taxes on sugary beverages as a way to discourage consumption and generate revenue for the health sector.
