500,000 Cameroonians are victims of diabetes - Study

According to a study conducted in 2014 by the International Diabetes Federation, more than 21 million people have diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa, with approximately 500,000 being Cameroonians.

The number could reach one million by 2035, representing 5.6% of the population, if nothing is done. This study, titled, International Diabetes Managing and Practise Study (IDMPS) returned for its 6th edition and for Cameroon an estimated 13 800 deaths related to diabetes were identified. But in the opinion of the leaders of Sanofi group, which presented the results of this study recently in Frankfurt, Germany, they do not see diabetes only in terms of numbers.

"This disease really affects people regardless of their social status," said Pr. Jean-Claude Mbanya, one of the leading endocrinologists on the study. These people need to be monitored and educated as in Cameroon, diabetes remains a taboo and its treatment remains inaccessible.

However, to prove this reality, we must still rely on numbers. According to Professor Mbanya, 10 patients had poor response (lack of control of eyes, kidney, foot, liver, heart, all factors for complications of the disease) and more than half of patients precisely are with complications such as cardiovascular disease, diabetic foot that can lead to amputation, kidney failure, etc.

The practitioner also indicates that half of the patients do not engage in self monitoring of the disease because it is expensive. Therefore, at the end of the study, it was recommended that an increase in education of the population in general and that of the people affected in particular, on diabetes is prudent. "This is an important factor in the fight and management of the disease, as well as in self-management", said Pr. Mbanya.