Last Friday, November 14, the international community observed World Diabetes Day. It is the primary global awareness campaign focusing on diabetes mellitus, established by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). It aims to raise awareness about diabetes as a critical public health issue and emphasizes the need for collective actions to improve prevention, diagnosis, and management of the condition.
This year, the theme was “Diabetes and Well-Being,” which highlighted the importance of mental health, physical health, and overall quality of life for individuals living with diabetes. The campaign aims to address not just the medical aspects of diabetes management but also the lifestyle, emotional support, and community engagement necessary for a balanced life.
Our beloved late editor-in-chief, Antonio M. Ajero, was a diabetic. When I asked him how he was able to discover his illness, he told me that he could not remember what the symptoms were that he experienced. But he was diagnosed with suffering from diabetes after the free annual examination that was offered by the University of Mindanao in Davao City.
“The first time, I was diagnosed to have a sugar level of 9 plus, I was simply given a list of things – food and drinks – to avoid. Actually, it was a list for people who have gout,” he recalled.
Ajero followed the “avoid list” and did brisk walking. The next time he had the annual exam, the numbers were down – chiefly sugar level and bad cholesterol.
The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) lists diabetes as one of the four major non-communicable diseases that cause deaths worldwide, with the others being cancer, heart disease and stroke, and lung diseases.
What used to be a disease of minor significance to world health, “diabetes is now taking its place as one of the main threats to human health in the 21st century,” reported Prof. Paul Zimmet, director of the International Diabetes Institute (IDI). “The past three decades have seen an explosive increase in the number of people with diabetes worldwide.”
The Philippines is not spared from such health problems. The Department of Health (DOH) has identified more than 656,000 Filipinos as having diabetes in 2024, marking a notable rise compared to earlier years. However, the actual number is probably much greater.
The International Diabetes Federation approximates that 4.7 million Filipino adults currently have diabetes, an increase from four million in 2019, while research indicates that nearly 2.8 million additional individuals are still undiagnosed.
For every 100 deaths, two of them died of diabetes in 1999. By 2002, the figure of those who died from diabetes more than doubled to five deaths, according to the report of the National Epidemiology Center of the Department of Health (DOH).
This made the country a “diabetes hotspot.” In fact, at the current rate Filipinos are developing the chronic disease, the IDI says the Philippines may be among the top 10 countries with the most cases of disease by 2045.
What is alarming is that diabetes isn’t behaving the way it did in the past. Forget your former notions of the disease: that it strikes old aunties and the rich, or that it seldom kills. Diabetes no longer cares about class distinctions or age – it’s becoming as prevalent in slums as in mansions, and it’s ravaging the young like never before.
Yes, diabetes is haunting Filipino children. “Filipinos diagnosed with diabetes are getting younger and younger,” Manila Bulletin said in a report. “Children, as young as five, have already been diagnosed with diabetes.”
One of the reasons why the number of people with diabetes surges is due to the changing lifestyle among Filipinos. From having a carbohydrate-diet in the past, Filipinos are now fond of eating processed food.
“Most Filipinos eat a lot of rice then a small portion of pork or chicken plus soft drinks,” said Dr. Rosa Allyn Sy, head of the endocrinology, diabetes, metabolism, and nutrition section of the Cardinal Santos Medical Center.
Another reason: lesser physical activities. Exercise, Dr. Sy said, is important to burn the carbohydrates from food, which turn into sugar eventually. “Most Filipinos, unlike Europeans, don’t have physical activities,” Dr. Sy was quoted as saying by state-owned Philippine News Agency. “Europeans walk a lot, or they bike, but I can’t blame Filipinos because walking here can sometimes be dangerous, but if you walk at least 10,000 steps a day, which you can track in your smartphone, it’s already a good exercise.”
Actually, there are two varieties of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes – sometimes called insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus or juvenile-onset diabetes – results from a shortage of insulin. Type 2 diabetes – also known as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus or adult-onset diabetes – results from the body’s inability to process the hormone effectively. About 90% of all diabetics have this form.
Medical experts say that a person who has Type 1 knows he has it: The pancreas produces insulin. Not surprisingly, the symptoms are severe and without regular injections to make up for the lack of insulin, the afflicted patient risks coma and death.
On the other hand, someone with Type 2 diabetes starts out with abnormally high levels of insulin and can go for years – even decades – without knowing he has the disease, because no immediate, life-altering symptoms occur.
The Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic says some of the signs and symptoms of both types are as follows: increased thirst, frequent urination, extreme hunger, unexplained weight loss, presence of ketones in the urine (ketones are a by-product of the breakdown of muscle and fat that happens where there’s not enough available insulin), fatigue, irritability, blurred vision, slow-hearing sores, and frequent infections (such as gums or skin infections and vaginal infections).
Those who are experiencing any of the above symptoms but do not believe they have diabetes are gambling with their health.
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