ZIMBABWE’S latest diabetes prevalence rate currently stands at 10%, which is a 5% increase from the 2015 figures a health expert has said.
By Kuda Pembere
In an interview with HealthTimes, Harare based podiatrist who specialists in diabetes Diana Chapoterera Bulle said this year the prevalence of diabetes could have risen to 10 percent.
“I would estimate the prevalence of diabetes as of June this year to be around 10 percent. The reason is largely the lifestyles we have. We don’t have a culture of exercising and the type of food we are eating now,” she said.
The last research on diabetes prevalence was done in 2015 by Mutsa Mutowo, Usha Gowda, Andre Renzaho, Paula Lorgelly, Alice Owen as well as Health and Child Care deputy minister John Chamunorwa Mangwiro. The research found the prevalence at 5, 7 percent.
“The prevalence of diabetes is on the rise and according to research in Zimbabwe, it is estimated to be at 5, 7 percent. Despite the increase and awareness of diabetes a lot of patients are not meeting targets for dysemy control low density lipoproteins, cholesterol and non-smoking status,” Chapoterera-Bulle said.
Chapoterera-Bulle also noted that there is a huge gap between ideal care and actual diabetes care. “Diabetes management is multifaceted. Our healthcare system is more acute oriented and not equipped to manage chronic diseases. The future of diabetes will be shaped by frightening projections of increased incidence producing more devastating complications and higher costs,” she said.
As diabetes develops during the peak-income earning period in an individual’s life in sub Saharan Africa, it mainly affects the breadwinners of a family. Females more likely to report a history of diabetes compared to males, according to some studies.
