World Diabetes Day: Guyanese urged to get screened for prediabetes to avoid serious health problems

Prediabetes is a condition that often goes unnoticed until serious health problems arise, and on the occasion of World Diabetes Day, the Health Ministry has encouraged Guyanese to get screened if they fall within the at-risk categories.
Coordinator of the Chronic Disease Unit, Dr Danielle Drepaul shed light on prediabetes, which has been described as where a person has higher than normal blood sugar levels but not enough to be diagnosed as Type 2 diabetic. It means a person cannot process glucose or sugar properly anymore.
Prediabetes puts persons at an increased risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. While the exact cause of prediabetes is unknown, familial history and genetics appear to play a role.

She shared, “You can have prediabetes for years but have no clear symptoms so it often goes unnoticed until serious health problems such as Type 2 Diabetes show up. One possible sign of prediabetes is darkening skin on certain parts of the body, such as the neck, armpit, and groin.”
Dr Drepaul added, “It is important to visit your nearest health facility to be screened for prediabetes if you present the following risk factors such as being overweight; 45 years or older; have a close relative with Type 2 Diabetes; physically inactive; or Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.”
Meanwhile, a gynaecologist at the Mahaicony Hospital Unit, Dr Rondell Stuart, drew attention to Gestational Diabetes, a case where there is some resistance due to hormonal changes, preventing sugar from being expelled from the blood.
He explained, “In pregnancy, the placenta produces some hormone which makes it difficult or there is insulin resistance, where it doesn’t work exactly. Even though most women are able to compensate and their body produces more insulin to take that sugar out the blood, not everyone is able to do so.”
Between 20 to 24 weeks, these hormones are more prominent and present greater resistance. An oral glucose tolerance test is typically done.

Once a pregnant woman is diagnosed with gestational diabetes, the gynaecologist cautioned, “There can be complications for both the mother and the baby. Studies have shown that in mothers who are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, approximately 30 to 60 per cent can go on to develop Type 2 Diabetes in 10 years.”
It was shared that in this case, medical nutritional therapy and daily testing are done to prevent the condition from becoming uncontrollable.
“There are multiple complications that your baby can suffer from, from you having diabetes or if it is unknown or not properly controlled. We recommend if you become pregnant, you must be screened for gestational diabetes because it is something very important to avoid complications for both the baby and the mother.”
Diabetes is the inability of glucose to be absorbed from blood into cells. The World Health Organisation states that about 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, the majority living in low-and middle-income countries, and 1.5 million deaths are directly attributed to diabetes each year.