Emotional support of family members will help diabetes patients in leading a healthy life, said doctors of Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre here on Wednesday. Addressing media persons, they pointed out that family members needed to motivate the diabetic patients to follow a healthy diet, avoid consumption of alcohol and exercise regularly. C.R. Mahesh Babu, Consultant, Department of Diabetology, Meenakshi Mission Hospital, said family members needed to be aware of symptoms of the disease and risks associated with varying sugar levels. The doctors said that India was being called the ‘diabetes capital’ of the world, with more than 10%of the citizens being affected by the disease. In Tamil Nadu, the prevalence of diabetes was around 15% in urban areas and around 6% in rural areas. Lack of exercise, stress, excessive intake of processed food and unhealthy lifestyle practices were the major causes of diabetes. P. Krishnamoorthy, Senior Consultant and Head of the Department of General Medicine, Meenakshi Mission Hospital, said people needed to regularly attend screening camps to enable early detection of diabetes. Untreated, the disease would lead to many complications related to the heart and kidneys, and could even lead to other life-threatening complications such as ketosis, stroke or cardiac attack.
Source: The Hindu
Date: 14.11.2019
