The number of diabetic patients in the world has been increasing every year. Its prevalence is higher in middle and low income countries than in high income ones. Premature mortality has also increased as a result of this controllable long-term disease.
The rate of diabetes is also increasing in Bangladesh. According to a recent study, the prevalence of this disease is higher among the educated people in the country.
Non-communicable diseases are the ninth leading cause of death in the world, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Every year, November 14 is celebrated as 'World Diabetes Day' with the aim of creating diabetes awareness around the world. The theme of this year's World Diabetes Day is: “It's not too late to get diabetes treatment.”
The study was conducted by seven researchers from five universities in Bangladesh and Australia. The entire activity is based on data from a survey conducted by the government's National Institute of Population Research and Training (NIPORT).
The study included data from 14,500 people over the age of 18. Of which 6,791 were women and 8,013 were men. Blood glucose tests were used to find out their diabetes status.
The study titled `Prevalence of Diabetes and Prediabetes among Bangladeshi Adults and Associated Factors' shows that 13% of people in the country are affected by diabetes. Around 62% of them are not aware of the disease. And only 35 percent receive regular treatment.
The rate of diabetes is 9.45 percent among those who have no formal education. Some 9.77 percent are affected who are educated up to primary level and 9.51 percent diabetes is seen among those who received education up to secondary levels. Besides, 9.93 percent of the highly educated people are affected by diabetes.
Coordinator of the Center for Global Health Research of the Bangladesh Diabetic Association, Dr Biswajit Bhowmik, said, “Diabetes is more prevalent among educated people for three reasons.”
In light of his long experience, he also said, “Educated people have lower levels of physical activity, their eating habits are favourable for diabetes and they have higher levels of stress or depression.”
Hereditary factors can also lead to diabetes. However, it is not uncommon for educated people to have high levels of diabetes. The educated population of our country is different from the educated population of western countries. In those countries, the educated and the rich consume less highly processed food.
On the other hand, the rate of such food intake is high in our country. At the same time, rapid urbanization is taking place in Bangladesh. As a result, our social activities including entertainment and walking space are declining. Due to the dependence on technology, we are experiencing physical and mental disorders, as a result of which the rate of diabetes is increasing.
Like other countries in the world, various organisations including Bangladesh Diabetic Association have taken various programs to raise awareness about diabetes among the people of Bangladesh, highlighting the theme of this year's ‘World Diabetes Day’.
According to the WHO, the number of diabetic patients in the world is currently 425 million. However, the fear is that one out of every two adults is still unaware that he or she has diabetes.
