Rehab Centre focuses on diabetes

Jun 12, 2009 News

The Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre has taken the initiative to sensitize their diabetic patients; especially those who underwent amputation, on the precautions that they need to take in order to control the disease.
At a workshop held yesterday at the Centre, Rehabilitation Assistant, Carol LaFleur said that the workshop also aims to educate the patients on how to prevent high blood pressure and the kind of exercises that they need to do, which are necessary in order to retain strength in their body.

The patients were also informed about the disease itself and the kind of food that they need to eat.
The workshop dealt with foot care, and blood sugar and pressure testing, while it is expected at the end of the session that the patients would learn how to manage their systems better, to manage their blood glucose and to balance their medication and stress.
It was recently revealed by the Ministry of Health that there are approximately 10,000 new cases of diabetes reported every year, with the majority occurring among women. In 2007, there were 6,201 new cases of diabetes among females, while there were 3,517 new cases among males.
It is for this reason that the diabetes register has been established, while the chronic disease register is now in its fledging stages.

The diabetes register reflects what the surveillance report is showing, as the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation has seen a total of 1,500 cases, of which 70 percent are female.
From the register itself, it was found that about 58 percent of the cases are among East Indian Guyanese, while 36 percent occur among the African Guyanese population. Eighty-three (83) percent of the cases are Type 2 diabetes, with 23 percent on insulin. It was noted that 46 percent of the persons with diabetes also report hypertension as a consequence, while 14 percent have heart complaints and 8 percent, kidney problems.
It was also revealed that there are 15,000 new cases of hypertension per year and again the majority is among females, which amounts to approximately 67 percent.
Chronic diseases constitute the number one causes of morbidity and mortality in Guyana, inclusive of diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases.