The 2008 health and vital statistics report of the Division of Public Health showed that three of the five leading causes of death in the CNMI — heart disease, stroke and kidney disease are related to hypertension and diabetes.
Diabetes is a chronic disease which occurs when the body loses its ability to control the amount of sugar in the blood.
Once the blood sugar level gets very high or very low, it can cause serious damage to the organs of the body.
Dr. Gary Ramsey, coordinator of the Wise Women Program Project said that diabetes is a serious chronic disease in the island that “is too big to ignore.”
But a lot of people in the CNMI do not know they have it, he said.
Ramsey said that the health problems on Saipan may be caused by genetics, lack of access to wide varieties of healthy food, fewer choices for physical activity, and the New World Syndrome, or the rapid westernization of traditional cultures.
As people take less time to exercise and eat less healthy types of food in larger quantities, the number of diabetes cases is spiraling out of control.
Ramsey said that these factors create a rippling effect on one’s overall health based on the following equation:
Poor diet and lack of physical activity causes overweight and obesity. Overweight and obesity leads lead to diabetes and hypertension. Diabetes and hypertension cause heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure, and these three are among the leading causes of death and disability in the CNMI.
He said the constantly full dialysis center at the Commonwealth Health Center is one proof of the huge number of patients suffering from kidney failure and majority of these cases are caused by diabetes.
Five years ago, statistics from the Department of Commerce showed that only two percent of the population in the island is older than 64 years old compared to the 12 percent of stateside Americans.
Ramsey is urging everybody not to wait until too late before submitting to diabetes screening.
No. 1 cause of adult blindness
Diabetes is also the number one cause of adult blindness, according to Marianas Eye Institute co-founder and director Dr. David Khorram.
He said that with over 3,000 individuals who have diabetes, and with a much higher number of those who are not aware they have it, going for an eye exam is the first step to prevent blindness caused by diabetes.
He said that diabetes patients are required to have an eye exam at least once a year, but statistics show only about 20 percent of the island’s diabetes patients get an eye exam in any given year.
The CNMI Diabetes Prevention and Control Program says the good news is up to 80 percent of Type 2 diabetes is preventable by adopting a healthy diet and increasing physical activity
The DPCP offers free blood pressure and blood sugar health screening at the Oleai Pavilion along the Beach pathway from 5 to 6 p.m. every Wednesday.
For more information, call the Commonwealth Diabetes Coalition at 322-7469, Tinian Diabetes Association at 433-9233, Rota Diabetes Association at 532-9408 and the DPCP at 236-8715/6.
