Diabetes is leading cause of kidney failure in Guyana

– over 330 persons on dialysis

Patients diagnosed with diabetes are more at risk of suffering from kidney failure, given that diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure in Guyana.
In 2023, the Health Ministry revealed that a total of 150 young persons in Guyana were battling type 1 diabetes while an estimated 60,000 persons have type 2 diabetes.
Additionally, 330 persons currently require dialysis treatment to help them live and as the country focuses on improving the treatment for persons with diabetes, the Health Ministry is hoping to detect persons at risk for diabetes or those who are pre-diabetic much earlier.

Last week, Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony announced that the obesity rates in the country were linked to several changing lifestyle factors, which the population have adopted, ranging from dietary choices to sedentary lifestyles.
The Minister pointed out that the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods and a decrease in physical activity are among the risk factors contributing to the high prevalence of obesity.
According to a Nephrologist at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), Dr Baldeo Singh this issue must be addressed given that kidney disease is linked to other health complications.
“Once you have kidney disease, you may have eyes [disease] as well, because they come hand in hand… around 15 to 20 years when you have kidney disease, your eyes are affected and kidney disease also increases the risk of heart disease… And the major cause of death in kidney disease is heart disease,” he related during a televised programme.
Signs and symptoms of kidney failure include swollen feet, abdomen and face; decrease in urine output and in advanced stages, decreased appetite, weight loss, difficulty sleeping, and nausea.
To counter this health issue, Dr Singh said they first have to deal with the risk factors that contribute to kidney disease such as obesity which causes diabetes.
“If you have type 1 diabetes and you have it in your teens, by the time you reach 30 or 40, you will have kidney disease or even earlier. If you have type 2 diabetes and you got diagnosed in your thirties or forties, by the time you reach fifty you will be diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, if these things are uncontrolled,” he explained.
Through its Chronic Disease Programme, the Ministry of Health will be increasing screening for kidney disease this year. Further, drugs used to treat diabetes will be standardised along with the new guidelines’ detailed goals and targets for prevention and control.
Follow-up care and primary-care measures that can be used to prevent complications will also be further prioritised.