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‘Let’s prevent diabetes hitting the young’
View(s):- With teenagers & those in their 20s vulnerable, SLCE President Dr. Dimuthu Muthukuda urges action right now
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
Diabetes and the latest danger, are what they are trying to shout from the rooftops, so that all healthcare workers and people would heed the warning and reverse the tide, saving the younger generation from critical, long-term illness.
SLCE President Dr. Dimuthu Muthukuda
The young, those in their teens and early-20s, are showing a tendency to be hit by diabetes, explains the worried President of the Sri Lanka College of Endocrinologists (SLCE), Dr. Dimuthu Muthukuda as she and her council prepare to hold ‘SLENDO 23’.
Before talking about this “major threat” that is not unique to Sri Lanka but seems to be a worldwide trend, she explains what SLCE’s sub-specialty is about – endocrinology which deals with endocrine glands and the hormones secreted by them.
“Some glands are tiny, about the size of a grain of rice, while others are larger. They are located all over the body from head to toe,” says Dr. Muthukuda, reiterating that the hormones (chemicals) created and released by these glands control many body processes.
Dozens of conditions can cause issues in the endocrine system. They include common conditions such as diabetes, thyroid disorders, reproductive issues in both men and women and osteoporosis in women.
For Dr. Muthukuda and her team, what is causing a headache is diabetes which seems to be hitting the younger generations, faster than it did some time ago.
Diabetes is a condition in which blood sugar (glucose) levels are high.
SLCE Secretary Dr. Dulani Kottahachchi
Citing a recent study on diabetes, Dr. Muthukuda says that the prevalence is 1 in 4 persons, which is showing an alarming rise. However, what is worrying them is the ‘age of onset’ of diabetes. Those days, people were affected by diabetes in middle age. It came on gradually.
“Now,” she warns, diabetes is hitting adolescents and young adults, from around 14 years old to those in their early-20s. The danger is that when those so young get diabetes, the adverse effects of this dreaded disease accumulate over the years in their bodies.
With being overweight and obese, the risk factors, this Endocrinologist stresses that obesity causes insulin resistance at tissue level. There is no insulin deficiency, but central or abdominal obesity later leads to insulin resistance. (Insulin is the hormone the body uses to allow glucose to enter cells to produce energy.)
Dr. Muthukuda reiterates that this disease is time-dependent and when a young person is gripped by it, there would be more severe disease over a longer period of time, with complications having to be dealt with in the long-run. These young people will also have babies of their own, passing on the danger of diabetes to the next generation as well.
Action right now, is what is needed, she says, explaining that the SLCE will deliver the “message of prevention” to all levels – healthcare staff including junior doctors and nurses and also people including schoolchildren and those in their 20s.
The message would be about healthy lifestyles including a balanced diet and regular exercise to prevent obesity, which is the main enemy causing diabetes.
“We are also hoping to underscore the importance of diagnosing diabetes early in pregnancy, by seeking revisions of existing guidelines in collaboration with relevant stakeholders such as obstetricians and nutritionists,” she said.
Dr. Muthukuda adds with conviction: “Prevention is the best medicine in dealing with diabetes.”
The Council of the SLCE
| SLENDO 23 ‘SLENDO 23’, the annual academic congress of the Sri Lanka College of Endocrinologists, will be held in Colombo from July 27-30. The theme of the congress is ‘Leadership is Service’. The Chief Guest at the inauguration is the Director-General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena and the Guest-of-Honour, thePresident of the Society for Endocrinology, Prof. Martha Korbonits from the United Kingdom. | |
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