diabetes Archives - TalkAfrique

May 24, 2015

African Healthcare: Diabetes, Cancer, Other NCDs Catch up with Malaria

It is no longer malaria and tuberculosis.

In the past, the two diseases dominated any healthcare conversation when the subject was about Africa. Times have changed. Today, diabetes, cancer, and heart and respiratory diseases are emerging as the top killers in Africa. Though infectious diseases remain a threat, the trendline is changing due to the rise of non communicable diseases (NCD). These used to be called the diseases of the rich but urbanization, smoking and the intrusion of western diets have broken the insulation African used to enjoy against these diseases. What is alarming is that African healthcare infrastructure are not currently able to manage these non communicable diseases.

In the weeks ahead, I will be delving into the issues of non-communicable diseases in Africa, the case for more funding of research to understand the rise NCDs and what governments need to do to avoid NCDs becoming the next malaria and TB.

June 10, 2012

Early Action Can Cut Incidence of Diabetes

An “early and aggressive” approach to people on the cusp of developing Type 2 diabetes is justified to reduce cases of the disease, a study suggests.

People with “pre-diabetes” have higher than normal blood sugar which has not yet reached diabetic levels.

A US study, published in the Lancet, showed restoring normal sugar levels more than halved the numbers going on to Type 2 diabetes.

Experts said the findings were clinically important.

It is thought that seven million people have pre-diabetes in the UK and 79 million in the US. They are at heightened risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart attack and stroke. Many are undiagnosed.

Some measures, such as weight loss and more exercise, can reverse pre-diabetes. The study, by the US Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group, tried to determine how effective the treatment was at preventing Type 2 diabetes.

It followed 1,990 people with pre-diabetes. Some were being treated through drugs or lifestyle change, others were not.

It showed patients who reduced their blood sugar levels to normal, even briefly, were 56% less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes during the six years of the study.

Lead author Dr Leigh Perreault, from the University of Colorado, said: “This analysis draws attention to the significant long-term reduction in diabetes risk when someone with pre-diabetes returns to normal glucose regulation, supporting a shift in the standard of care to early and aggressive glucose-lowering treatment in patients at highest risk.”

Dr Natalia Yakubovich, from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, said the “findings clearly suggest” that restoring normal blood sugar levels was “of clinical relevance”.

She added: “Identification of regression to normal glucose regulation could be an important way to stratify people into those at higher and lower risk of progression to diabetes.

“Such stratification could therefore identify individuals for whom additional treatment might be needed to prevent diabetes or to slow down disease progression.”

October 14, 2011

Effects of Obesity Worse for Teen Girls

Obesity ‘worse for teen girls’ blood pressure’

Obesity has a greater impact on the blood pressure of teenage girls than on teenage boys, a US study has suggested.

High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke in later life.

The study of 1,700 teenagers, presented to the American Physiological Society conference, found girls had three times the risk of higher blood pressure.

A British Heart Foundation spokeswoman said a third of young people in the UK were overweight or obese.

The teenagers, aged between 13 and 17 had their blood pressure measured as part of school district health surveys and health checks. Their body mass index (BMI) – a measure of weight/height ratio – was also recorded.

There are two types of blood pressure which are measured. Diastolic pressure – the lower number in a reading – measures the force on the arteries between heartbeats. Systolic blood pressure, represented by the top number in a blood pressure reading, is the amount of force that blood exerts on blood vessel walls when the heart beats.

High systolic measurements indicate risk for heart disease and stroke.

It was found obese boys were 3.5 times more likely to develop elevated systolic blood pressure than non-obese boys.

But similarly obese girls were nine times more likely to develop elevated systolic blood pressure than their non-obese peers.

Danger ‘highlighted’

The researchers from the University of California say the link may be counteracting the known protective effect of the hormone oestrogen on the heart.

Dr Rudy Ortiz, who led the study, said: “Overall, there is a higher likelihood that those who present with both higher BMI and blood pressure will succumb to cardiovascular complications as adults.

“But the findings suggest that obese females may have a higher risk of developing these problems than males.”

Dr Ortiz said the significant difference between boys and girls could be explained by exercise levels.

“Obese adolescent females participate in 50 to 60% less physical activity than boys in the population surveyed.”

Natasha Stewart, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: “Here we have yet more evidence highlighting the danger that obesity poses to the health of our children.

“Based on this American study alone, it’s too early to say for sure whether girls are more at risk than boys, but we do know girls tend to be less active than boys which could play a part.

“What is certain is that obesity is clearly putting both boys’ and girls’ health at risk.

“This is a very real problem for lots of families – about a third of young people in England are now overweight or obese.

“Healthy eating and physical activity during childhood is vital to ensure growth, development and a pattern of healthy habits which will carry through into adulthood.”

October 7, 2011October 7, 2011

Cause of Hypoglycaemia Found, Say Researchers

The cause of a rare and severe form of hypoglycaemia – or very low levels of sugar in the blood – is genetic, say researchers.

The life-threatening condition means the body does not have enough energy to function.

Scientists at the University of Cambridge say mutations in the AKT2 gene are to blame.

Writing in the journal Science, they say there are already cancer drugs which target a similar process.

Hypoglycaemia can be caused by a disruption in the balance between the hormone insulin and sugar. Insulin lowers the level of sugar in the blood.

The condition is commonly associated with Type 1 diabetes, when the patients inject too much insulin, miss a meal or drink alcohol.

August 16, 2011

Strong Link Between Exercise and Life Expectancy

Just 15 minutes of exercise a day can boost life expectancy by three years and cut death risk by 14%, research from Taiwan suggests.

Experts in The Lancet say this is the least amount of activity an adult can do to gain any health benefit.

This is about half the quantity currently recommended in the UK.

Meanwhile, work in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests a couch potato lifestyle with six hours of TV a day cuts lifespan by five years.

The UK government recently updated its exercise advice to have a more flexible approach, recommending adults get 150 minutes of activity a week.

This could be a couple of 10-minute bouts of activity every day or 30-minute exercise sessions, five times a week, for example.

Experts say this advice still stands, but that a minimum of 15 minutes a day is a good place to start for those who currently do little or no exercise.

The Lancet study, based on a review of more than 400,000 people in Taiwan, showed 15 minutes per day or 90 minutes per week of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, can add three years to your life.

And people who start to do more exercise tend to get a taste for it and up their daily quota, the researchers from the National Health Research Institutes, Taiwan, and China Medical University Hospital found.

More exercise led to further life gains. Every additional 15 minutes of daily exercise further reduced all-cause death rates by 4%.

And research from Australia on health risks linked to TV viewing suggest too much time sat in front of the box can shorten life expectancy, presumably because viewers who watch a lot of telly do little or no exercise.

England’s Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies said: “Physical activity offers huge benefits and these studies back what we already know – that doing a little bit of physical activity each day brings health benefits and a sedentary lifestyle carries additional risks.”

She added: “We hope these studies will help more people realise that there are many ways to get exercise, activities like walking at a good pace or digging the garden over can count too.”

Prof Stuart Biddle, an expert in exercise psychology at Loughborough University, said a lot of people in the UK now fall into the category of inactive or sedentary.

He said that aiming for 30 minutes of exercise a day on pretty much every day of the week might seem too challenging for some, but starting low and building up could be achievable.

“You can get good gains with relatively small amounts of physical activity. More is always better, but less is a good place to start.”

By Michelle Roberts

Health reporter, BBC News

July 5, 2011July 5, 2011

Women Advised to ‘Floss for fertility’

Women trying for a baby should get a dental check-up

Women who want the best chance of having a baby should make sure they floss their teeth regularly, say doctors.

Poor oral health is as bad for fertility as obesity – delaying conception by about two months.

Experts at a fertility meeting in Sweden heard how women with gum disease took over seven months to conceive, compared to the usual five months.

They believe the underlying cause is inflammation.

Unchecked, this can set off a chain of reactions capable of damaging the body’s normal workings.

Peridontal disease has already been linked with heart disease, type 2 diabetes and miscarriage, plus poor sperm quality in men.

In this latest study from Australia, which involved over 3,500 women, those with gum disease had raised blood levels of markers for inflammation.

Lead researcher Professor Roger Hart, of the University of Western Australia, said: “Until now, there have been no published studies that investigate whether gum disease can affect a woman’s chance of conceiving, so this is the first report to suggest that gum disease might be one of several factors that could be modified to improve the chances of a pregnancy.”

He said women trying for a baby should now add a trip to their dentist to the check list along with stopping smoking and drinking, maintaining a healthy weight and taking folic acid supplements.

UK fertility expert Dr Allan Pacey said: “It’s common sense advice really to make sure you are in a healthy condition if you want to try for a baby.”

Around 10% of the population is believed to have severe periodontal disease.

By Michelle Roberts

Health reporter, BBC News, in Stockholm

June 25, 2011

Type 2 Diabetes in Newly Diagnosed ‘Can Be Reversed’

An extreme eight-week diet of 600 calories a day can reverse Type 2 diabetes in people newly diagnosed with the disease, says a Diabetologia study.

Newcastle University researchers found the low-calorie diet reduced fat levels in the pancreas and liver, which helped insulin production return to normal.

Seven out of 11 people studied were free of diabetes three months later, say findings published in the journal.

More research is needed to see whether the reversal is permanent, say experts.

Type 2 diabetes affects 2.5m people in the UK. It develops when not enough insulin is produced in the body or the insulin that is made by the body doesn’t work properly.

When this happens, glucose – a type of sugar – builds up in the blood instead of being broken down into energy or fuel which the body needs.

The 11 participants in the study were all diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes within the previous four years.

They cut their food intake drastically for two months, eating only liquid diet drinks and non-starchy vegetables.

Fat loss

After one week of the diet, researchers found that the pre-breakfast blood sugar levels of all participants had returned to normal.

MRI scans of their pancreases also revealed that the fat levels in the organ had decreased from around 8% – an elevated level – to a more normal 6%.

Three months after the end of the diet, when participants had returned to eating normally and received advice on healthy eating and portion size, most no longer suffered from the condition.

Professor Roy Taylor, director of Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre at Newcastle University and lead study author, said he was not suggesting that people should follow the diet.

“This diet was only used to test the hypothesis that if people lose substantial weight they will lose their diabetes.

“Although this study involved people diagnosed with diabetes within the last four years, there is potential for people with longer-standing diabetes to turn things around too.”

Susceptibility question

Dr Ee Lin Lim, also from Newcastle University’s research team, said that although dietary factors were already known to have an impact on Type 2 diabetes, the research showed that the disease did not have to be a life sentence.

“It’s easy to take a pill, but harder to change lifestyle for good. Asking people to shift weight does actually work,” she said.

However, not everyone in the study managed to stay free of diabetes.

“It all depends on how much individuals are susceptible to diabetes. We need to find out why some people are more susceptible than others, then target these obese people. We can’t know the reasons for that in this study,” Dr Lim said.

Professor Edwin Gale, a diabetes expert from the University of Bristol, said the study did not reveal anything new.

“We have known that starvation is a good cure for diabetes. If we introduced rationing tomorrow, then we could get rid of diabetes in this country.

“If you can catch people with diabetes in the early stages while beta cells are still functioning, then you can delay its onset for years, but you will get it sooner or later because it’s in the system.”

But Keith Frayn, professor of human metabolism at the University of Oxford, said the Newcastle study was important.

“People who lose large amounts of weight following surgery to alter their stomach size or the plumbing of their intestines often lose their diabetes and no longer need treatment.

“This study shows that a period of marked weight loss can produce the same reversal of Type 2 diabetes.

“It offers great hope for many people with diabetes, although it must be said that not everyone will find it possible to stick to the extremely low-calorie diet used in this study.”

Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, which funded the study, said the diet was not an easy fix.

“Such a drastic diet should only be undertaken under medical supervision. Despite being a very small trial, we look forward to future results particularly to see whether the reversal would remain in the long term.”

February 6, 2011February 8, 2011

Engineering Economics of Obesity and Why Developing Countries Should Be Concerned

The health consequences of obesity such as diabetes, heart diseases, hypertension and some forms of cancer are well known but the engineering design headaches are often overlooked. In the developed nations, there are always provisions to re-engineer or refurbish existing infrastructure to accommodate the increasing weight of the population. Developing countries are not so lucky to have such luxury. In this short article, I will be highlighting a few areas where excess flesh is making re-engineering a necessity and why developing countries should be concerned.

Ambulance Services: Last week it was reported that ambulance services in the United Kingdom are refurbishing their convoy in order to conveniently handle heavier patients.

Airlines: In the US, some airlines, including Southwest, are instituting severe policies towards bulkier passengers. These include charging such passengers for the ‘excess’ weight. The additional fee is meant to enable the airline offer comfortable seating to all passengers and prepare for the additional efforts that may be needed to manage heavier passengers in the case of an emergency evacuation.

The Movie Theater, the Church, and Your Tithe: Surveys shows that today’s movie auditoriums hold half the number of people similar-sized auditoriums held around 1900, about 100 years ago. And what is the reason? Visitors to the auditoriums these days possess bigger bums and so bigger seats are needed to accommodate the extra flesh.

What applies to the movie theater will also hold true for the church auditorium. Much as most Men of God would not be comfortable going over the God-apportioned 10% tithe, the reality is that sooner than later, you will need to give more than 10% help design bigger seats for the same reasons given above.

Sports:

Sports stadiums are not spared the engineering headaches of increasing bums. For instance, the new Wembley stadium in London, which opened in 2007, was equipped with seats that are 9cm wider and 16cm deeper than those at the old Wembley.

These are just a few examples I wanted to highlight in this post.

The reason African countries should be concerned is that obesity is now going global, as we reported here. Obesity used to be seen as a Western epidemic, but urbanization and infiltration of western lifestyle have robbed the populations of African countries of the ‘immunity’ they used to enjoy against obesity. Unfortunately, scarce economic resources and engineering deficiencies make African countries ill-prepared to deal with the challenges that come with increasing body mass.

Therefore, let us overlook the aesthetic of looking thin and appearing on the front cover of Vogue. The economic of going the opposite direction is terrifying, especially for poorer nations.

This is just Food for Thought.

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