The Health Bureau (SSM) vowed yesterday to reach the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) anti-diabetes campaign goals by 2030.
The bureau announced its commitment to its continuing fight against the disease in a statement issued on the eve of World Diabetes Day (WDD).
The statement cited data from the bureau’s 2016 health survey of residents, according to which the prevalence of diabetes among adults in Macau then stood at 7.1 percent, while the disease awareness rate was 68 percent, the treatment rate reached 93.9 percent, and the control rate amounted to 57.7 percent.
The bureau’s health survey is conducted every 10 years. The next one is slated for 2026.
The bureau’s latest available data show, according to the statement, that while the prevalence of diabetes “rose slightly” between 2016 and 2021, the death rate from diabetes dropped from 14.6 per 100,000 people in 2009 to 9.2 per 100,000 in 2021, a 37 percent decline from 2009 and an average annual decline of 3.5 percent, the statement said.
The bureau will continue to try its best to achieve the coverage of diabetes prevention and control services by 2030 as proposed by World Health Organisation (WHO), and raise the diabetes awareness rate, blood sugar control rate and blood pressure control rate to 80 percent in Macau, the statement said.
World Diabetes Day (WDD) is marked every year on November 14. It was first created in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the WHO in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes, the statement said.
According to the statement, the WDD campaign periodically focuses on a new theme, with “Access to Diabetes Care” the theme for World Diabetes Day from 2021 to 2023, promoting access to a healthy diet and a place for physical activities, access to diabetes education programmes and psychological support, access to the equipment and supplies for self-monitoring of blood glucose levels, and access to oral medicines or insulin for regulating blood glucose levels.
The statement noted that possible symptoms of diabetes include thirst, excessive urination, increased appetite, weight loss, lethargy, poor wound healing, and infections. Uncontrolled diabetes causes acute conditions such as severe dehydration and coma.
Some risk factors for diabetes include advancing age, obesity, family history of diabetes, and lack of physical activity. Diabetes can also be predisposed by some endocrine diseases, pancreatic diseases and medicines such as steroids, according to the statement.
The bureau reminded the public to prevent diabetes by maintaining an optimal weight and waist circumference through a balanced diet, regular exercise and avoiding alcohol. People with diabetes should control their blood sugar through diet and/or medication.
This poster released by the Health Bureau (SSM) yesterday promotes today’s World Diabetes Day. The poster urges the public to be aware of the risks of the disease and to take appropriate action or prevent and control the ailment characterised by sustained high blood sugar levels. The blue circle is the international symbol for diabetis.
