Mexico City, December 16 (SinEmbargo) .– The Federal District has one of the highest diabetes prevalence in the world.According to information from the study “Cities changing diabetes: Mexico”, presented this week, 13.9 percent of the adult population of the capital of the country lives with this condition, which corresponds to approximately 2.4 million people.
Within the framework of the presentation of the document, Simón Barquera, director of Research in Nutrition Policies of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), said that "the prevalence of this disease in the capital is alarming" and said that "there are many problemsHealth care that has to be resolved. ”
“One of the things that alarmed us most is that there are 29 percent of people walking through the streets that do not know that it has diabetes, that is, 3 out of 10 diabetics does not yet have a diagnosis, which means that there is noA sufficiently good detection.On the other hand, we verify that the high prevalence of overweight and obesity is also alarming, which speaks of the bad chain of responses that are for chronic diseases, which are very complex, ”he said.
On the attention and treatment of the disease, the study reveals that of the total people diagnosed with diabetes, 86 percent receive attention and, from these, three out of four people with treatment do not achieve its objectives.During the presentation of the study, it was pointed out that very few people have control and, of these, even less have adequate control: "Only 2.2 percent of the total people with diabetes have adequate control of the disease," he saidBARQUERA
On the other hand, in addition to 13.9 percent of the adult capital who have diabetes another 19.8 (corresponding to approximately 3 and a half million people) suffers from prediabetes, which puts this population at a greater risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes in the future;Therefore, it is expected that by 2040, almost 6 and a half million of capital suffer from this disease.
A vulnerable population
Among the factors that put the population of the Federal District in vulnerability to diabetes is a demographic, epidemiological and nutritional transition, which has caused Mexico City to have one of the highest obesity rates in the world.
In this regard, the study points out, "there is a clear need for action to address the epidemic of obesity since, together with the increase in the age of the population, it is the main factor in the increase in the prevalence of diabetes".In addition to obesity, they point out, unhealthy lifestyles add up to risk factors.
On the other hand, "the lack of social security, the complexity of accessing certain medications for free, the ignorance of the disease, the stress, the long working days, poor diet, genetics and even religious beliefs" were detected inThe study as individual factors that complicate the attention of people living with diabetes in the Federal District.
Additionally, they point out, there is a perception of people with diabetes that socio-environmental characteristics such as “stress, labor exploitation, social insecurity, crime and difficulty of mobility”, are detonating factors of the disease.Another barrier detected by research so that people have effective care and treatment, was that patients distrust health services.
In an interview for SinEmbargo Simón Barquera said that to stop the diabetes epidemic, not only in the Federal District, but nationally “it is necessaryIt has to solve political, environmental, educational, cultural and even individual.It is not realistic that the Ministry of Health can alone with a problem like diabetes. ”
In the case of the capital, he explained, the most urgent points to work are the improvement of early diagnosis, combat the negative perception that diabetic patients have on health services and improve their control, delay as much as possible that prediabetics becomein diabetics and promote healthy lifestyles among the minor population.
