TYPE 2 diabetes – a debilitating condition linked to poor diet and lack of exercise – could overwhelm the Island’s health service if preventative measures are not taken, an expert has warned.
More than 4,500 people in Jersey are known to have either type 2 or the auto-immune condition type 1, compared to just 1,800 in the early 2000s. And a further 2,000 people could be living with the disease without knowing.
The rise has been mirrored in the UK and many parts of Europe.
Today Dr David Hopkins, consultant physician and clinical lead at the Diabetes & Endocrinology Centre, said that there were now plans to appoint a diabetes prevention officer to educate Islanders – including schoolchildren – on how to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
‘If it’s not tackled, diabetes could be the biggest risk factor for heart disease since smoking,’ he said.
‘If rates of diabetes continue, it will progressively overwhelm the health service.’
He explained that this was because of the cost of treating conditions such as heart disease and kidney failure, which can be caused by diabetes.
‘The costs of treating diabetes are very substantive. Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiac events,’ said Dr Hopkins, adding that type 2 diabetes was a ‘very serious health issue’.
‘Treating a heart attack in hospital is very expensive and often people are sent to the UK for treatment,’ he said. ‘The rate of new patients being diagnosed is fairly high and the number of referrals has gone up.
‘Since the millennium there has been a progressive rise in people being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in general.’
In 2013, the JEP reported that children as young as 13 in Jersey were being treated for the condition.
Six Islanders had also had parts of their legs amputated and up to 60 more had toes removed between 2003 and 2013 after complications from the disease developed.
Dr Hopkins said that there was an ‘increasing number of younger people and more people under 40’ being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in Jersey. Teenagers with the condition were referred to a paediatric clinic. The Department for Health and Community Services said there were currently ‘fewer than five type 2 patients between the ages of 16 and 18 and none under the age of 16.’
Dr Hopkins went on: ‘If we’re going to change the population’s health we need to tackle obesity, starting with education, awareness in workplaces, by seeking out advice and screening people with established weight issues.
‘With prevention programmes it could reduce the rates of diabetes by up to one-third.’
Dr Hopkins said a new diabetes prevention officer would be funded by the charity Diabetes Jersey.
‘This is an opportunity to raise awareness, by providing education in schools and working with the public. This would be the first step for what needs to be done,’ he said.
A spokesperson for the Public Health Department said: ‘Public Health Jersey recognises the importance of addressing the rise of type 2 diabetes as well as other preventable diseases.
‘Eating a nutritious diet is an effective way to reduce the increase in obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.’
Earlier this month, as part of National Diabetes Week, Islanders had the opportunity to get tested for diabetes at locations across the Island.
FACTBOX
Type 1 diabetes is an auto-immune condition which causes the level of glucose in the blood to become too high.
It happens when your body cannot produce enough of a hormone called insulin, which controls blood glucose. Those with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin every day to keep their blood glucose levels under control.
Type 2 diabetes is often caused by a combination of poor diet and lack of exercise, but can also be genetic. Symptoms include excessive thirst and needing to urinate a lot. It can increase the risk of an individual developing serious conditions, such as cardiac and eyesight problems.
