ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani medical practitioner on Wednesday blamed poor diet, mental stress and sedentary lifestyle for an upsurge in diabetes in the country where 33 million people are type-2 patients of the disease.
Diabetes has been prevalent in all age brackets in almost every part of the country, especially in densely populated urban centers where people find little time for physical activity and consume calorie dense diets. It has also emerged as one of the most serious and common chronic diseases globally, causing life threatening, disabling and costly complications while significantly reducing life expectancy.
After China and India, Pakistan has the third largest diabetes population globally which is expected to increase to 62.2 million by 2045, according to the latest IDF Diabetes Atlas which provides detailed information on the estimated and projected prevalence of the disease. An additional 11 million adults in Pakistan have impaired glucose tolerance while approximately 8.9 million people with diabetes remain undiagnosed.
“Mental stress, lack of physical activity and poor dietary diversity are major causes behind the spike of diabetes in Pakistan,” Dr. SHajjee Siddiqui, a medical specialist heading a diabetes control program at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad, told Arab News.
He said lack of diagnosis was also “alarmingly high” in Pakistan, adding a large number of people were not even aware they were suffering from the disease.
“Lack of screening and proper disease documentation were hurdles in better treatment, especially in the rural areas,” he continued.
In Pakistan, the increase in the burden of diabetes is in accord with the demographic transition of populations from rural to urban settings, often also accompanied by changes in the food environment and exposure to obesogenic diets.
“Demographic transition in many parts of Pakistan has contributed to change in dietary patterns and levels of physical activity, especially among women,” reveals a research paper, Diabetes in Pakistan: Addressing the Crisis, published in The Lancet in March this year.
The paper said the government had made “few investments” to address the high burden of the condition despite its increasing prevalence.
Annual per capita expenditure on diabetes in Pakistan is estimated to be $332.90, most of which relates to out-of-pocket expenses, it added.
Abdur Rehman, a 25-year-old student who is suffering from type-1 diabetes for the last two years, said that he had to spend over Rs8,000 ($40.5) each month to see a doctor, undergo a mandatory test and purchase medicines.
“This is a costly treatment for people in Pakistan when you think about their per capita income,” he told Arab News, urging the government to arrange free tests and medicines at least for deserving patients.
Dr. Mubashir Daha, general secretary at the Pakistan Medical Association, said that people with family history of diabetes were fifty percent more susceptible to the disease and must undergo regular medical check-ups besides adopting a healthy lifestyle to prevent it.
“People with sedative lifestyle and those who consume junk food and sugary drinks remain most vulnerable to contracting the diabetes,” he told Arab News.
Daha urged the government to allocate special funds for awareness and treatment of the disease as its prevalence was increasing rapidly among people of all ages.
“If not treated and managed properly, diabetes can have fatal side effects on patients with significant visibility and hearing loss to a damage to liver and kidneys,” he added.
