60 people die of diabetes in one minute –Expert

A medical expert has estimated that at least one person dies of diabetes every second around the globe. A medical expert and Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Adamu Girei Bakari made the disclosure in an interview with Journalists in Zaria yesterday. He explained that currently, 420 million people are living with diabetes worldwide and it is expected to increase to 522 million by the year 2030. Professor Bakari was speaking to newsmen in Zaria in commemoration to the United Nation World Diabetes Day usually marked every 14th of November. Bakari noted that 75 percent of those people resides in low and middle income countries like Nigeria, adding that the prevalence however varies from place to place with an estimate of between 10-20 million people being affected in Nigeria alone. He sadly said half of people with diabetes remain undiagnosed thereby increasing the risk of its complications. “Diabetes is a leading cause of several diseases like heart disease, blindness, kidney failure, stroke and lower limb amputation. “The disease’s related deaths are more than the deaths caused by Malaria, HIV and Tuberculosis combined,” he said. The medical expert noted with concern that the disease is more prevalent in developing countries like Nigeria and other black African countries. He however stated that 80 percent of type 2 diabetes which is the commonest form of the disease is preventable, using lifestyle modification.