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November 10, 2009 19:24 PM
Children Suffering With Diabetes On Rise In Bangladesh
DHAKA, Nov 10 (Bernama) -- Over 15,000 children in Bangladesh have been suffering from diabetes while the number of kids affected by the disease is on the rise in the South Asian country day-by-day due to lack of exercise and poor diet, officials said Tuesday.
Out of over 6 million diabetes patients in the country, President of the Diabetic Association of Bangladesh (DAB), AK Azad Khan, told China's Xinhua news agency Tuesday, "There are over 15,000 children diabetes patients in Bangladesh who need special care and treatment to cope with the disease."
"We should not treat our children suffering with diabetes like adult patients. There should have different approaches in treating children, otherwise the disease may strike a big blow to their future growth," he said.
Coming to symptoms, Azad said all the symptoms that adult patients exhibit are displayed by children too including excessive urination and thirst.
Diabetes is such a disease where not only doctors but also patients should be involved in the process of diabetic care, said the president of DAB, which has as many as 78 centers throughout the country to treat diabetes and related diseases.
A philanthropic Bangladeshi, Doctor Mohammed Ibrahim, first thought of diabetic care in the country and organized a group of social workers, philanthropists and professionals. With the help of them he established the DAB in 1956, which now treats 1.5 million registered diabetes patients.
"Although the second type of diabetes develops mostly in people that are over 40-year old, is rare in childhood, its incidence is on the rise owing to lack of exercise and poor diet. Insulin is a must for these patients," senior DAB official Farid Kabir said.
He said the medical records reveal that except for some cases, most of the children suffering from diabetes belonged to type-1 which is an autoimmune disease. The main reason attributed for this condition is genetic disorder which renders the pancreas ineffective for insulin release.
Professor Azad, who is with the DAB since 1970, said many of the children diabetes patients in Bangladesh cannot take insulin properly due to poverty of their parents which is a major challenge for them.
"Getting insulin available is a right of a child diabetes patient in any where of the world," he said.
Against the backdrop of rising trend in second type diabetes affected, both of the officials said parents should understand clearly the basics of the disease. The role that parents have to play in maintaining the sugar levels of their kids is an important one.
Apart from ensuring that the insulin is being administered to their kids every day, they must provide a healthy diet to their kids to restrict the sugar levels in the blood which is equally important as giving insulin, they said.
For this the parents should also know the sugar levels contained in various beverages and foodstuffs. The daily diet of the family has to be modified accordingly, they continued.
The DAB president, however, said parents should impart the knowledge they have gained to their progeny at young ages of the latter so that the future generations are well aware of the disease and can act proactively to prevent the incidence of the disease.
"The need of socio-medical awareness is urgent to contain the disease's spread," he added.
-- BERNAMA
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