07/11/2017
STATS & FACTS ON DIABETES 2017
Diabetes has become known as the Tsunami of the 21st Century, killing more people worldwide than HIV/AIDS and CANCER combined. Worldwide statistics are as follows: HIV/AIDS 35 million, CANCER 14 million, DIABETES 415 million. According to the International Diabetes Federation, a 110% increase is expected in Sub-Saharan Africa by the year 2030.
Diabetes SA states that Diabetes is currently the No. 2 leading cause of death in South Africa. Some of the major complications which can develop due to unmanaged diabetes are heart attacks, strokes, amputations, kidney failure, blindness and premature death.
The stigma attached to diabetes is one of the least known and discussed complications of diabetes. The ‘diabetes blame and shame game’ is real, and it has a negative impact on self-care, mental health and social life.
Few other diseases carry the social stigma of diabetes. For example, most people never blame breast cancer patients for getting cancer. There are a number of positive, empowering campaigns for cures and awareness for Cancer. Supporters wear pink and celebrate survivors. According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for women with breast cancer that has not spread is nearly 100%.
But in contrast to other diseases, the public is less accepting or encouraging of people living with diabetes. In fact, studies show more than half of Americans with Type 1 and 2 diabetes feel others blame them for their disease.
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Type 1 Diabetes is an Auto Immune Disease where the body’s own immune system destroys the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. It mostly affects the young from birth to 35 years, and it is no one’s fault, there is no way to prevent it. The child or young adult has to have multiple injections of insulin a day to replace the insulin which their body is no longer producing. They also have to test their blood glucose levels 3 – 6 times a day and balance meals and activity levels. Think of it as replacing the functioning of an organ in your body which is not working.
Yet a staggering 83% of parents of children with Type 1 feel the public blames them for causing their child's disease.
People with diabetes are presented as overweight, lazy and guilty of bringing the disease upon themselves - often illustrated by faceless overweight people in reports on network news. On social media, images of large amounts of sweets often accompany the word diabetes.
"Diabetes is a complex disease," diabetes educator Janis Roszler told Drugwatch. "For example, not everyone who is overweight develops it, and many who have Type 2 are thin." There are over 20 genes which contribute to developing Type 2 Diabetes. While being overweight is a known risk factor of Type 2 diabetes, those who have a family history of the disease or had it while pregnant are also at risk, regardless of weight.
A common practice among healthcare providers and people without diabetes is to call someone with the disease a ‘diabetic’. "We don't call someone who has cancer a ‘canceric’. "But, somehow, it seems acceptable to many to call someone a diabetic. No, they have diabetes. We should use person-first language rather than label someone by a disease." Health Care providers also use the term “non- compliant” in reference to a patient with diabetes, if their blood glucose levels are high. The stigma attached to the disease takes its toll and can be considerable. Experts call it diabetes distress - a mixture of depression, anxiety and stress. Research conducted by Dr Lawrence Fisher, Professor at the Diabetes Centre of the University of California in San Francisco, found about half of people with diabetes will experience it. Researchers found suffering from distress and stigma-induced shame leads to poor self-care and worse health outcomes.
People with diabetes whether Type 1 or Type 2 need compassion, education on how to manage the disease, support and encouragement, rather than judgement and criticism. For further information and support go to www.diabetessa.org.za and contact your nearest branch of Diabetes South Africa.
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