Diabetes growing concern among Filipinos — DOH
In the early stages of diabetic kidney disease, patients may not have any symptoms for many years.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UNSPLASH/sweet life
Daily TribuneIn the early stages of diabetic kidney disease, patients may not have any symptoms for many years.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UNSPLASH/sweet life
Diabetes remains a growing concern among Filipinos, the Department of Health (DOH) has noted.
Citing the Philippine Statistics Authority, the DOH reported that diabetes mellitus (DM) has consistently been among the top five causes of death for five years from 2018 to 2022.
In 2021 alone, there were 55,636 deaths due to DM.
Meanwhile, data from the Field Health Services Information System revealed that the morbidity of DM has been increasing in the past four years, from 54,796 cases in 2019 to 159,905 cases in 2022.
Additionally, the 2021 Expanded National Nutrition Survey reflects the high prevalence of Filipino adults and elderly with high fasting blood sugar with an estimate of 5.1 million cases.
Further, the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study found that diabetes mellitus led to 2.22 million DALYs (Disability-Adjusted Life Years), making it the fifth leading cause of disease burden in the country.
“The data clearly shows that DM is a growing concern in the Philippines, with significant increases in both the number of cases and its impact on public health,” the DOH said in a message sent to the DAILY TRIBUNE.
The department pointed out that the sharp increase in cases indicates that more Filipinos are being diagnosed with diabetes due to factors such as unhealthy diets, lack of physical activity, and increasing awareness leading to more diagnoses.
“A high burden of disease means more Filipinos are living less healthy, productive lives because of diabetes,” the DOH added.
“Beyond deaths, it leads to long-term disabilities and health complications like heart disease, kidney failure, and amputations. As a result, families face significant financial costs for treatments, hospitalizations, and managing complications,” it further noted.
Prevention
In terms of preventing diabetes, the Health department stated that "it’s never too early to start prevention of diabetes as it can develop over a long period of time."
"Diabetes has a strong lifestyle component. Physical activity, nutrition, the environment, and use of substances such as tobacco and alcohol are key factors in the development of Diabetes and other Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD)," the DOH explained.
"As such, NCDs like diabetes require long-term care and commitment. These conditions are chronic and require adherence to long-term and life-long interventions for control rather than cure, available at primary care facilities,” it added.
The DOH stressed that it continuously advocates and promotes healthy lifestyles, with emphasis on healthy diet and physical activity "to prevent not only diabetes but other NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, among others."
"The DOH endeavors to increase coverage for the management of hypertension and diabetes by 50% by the year 2028 through various strategies including provision of NCD drugs and strengthened collaboration and partnership with stakeholders,” it added.