Gujarat Health Minister Jay Narayan Vyas said that Gujaratis have a strong sweet tooth, while addressing patients, doctors and others present for the three-day annual meet of Diabetic Foot Society of India (DFSI) at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA), on Friday.
Following the inauguration of the three-day annual session of seminars and workshops, Vyas said, "While India is termed as the diabetic capital of the world, Gujarat is the diabetic capital of India thanks to the strong inclination towards sweets of Gujaratis. No occasion or event is complete without a sweet dish. Therefore, doctors term this is a lifestyle and privilege disease that comes by our negligence and stays till our last breath even if we want to discard it."
Vyas also mentioned that while currently 250 million people are suffering from diabetes, this figure was likely to touch 380 million by 2025. Speaking about diabetic foot and the problems thereafter, Vyas informed that, "One of every three patients suffers from ulcers that don't get treated and hence the foot or leg needs to get amputated.
However, if proper care and education is given to diabetic patients and their family members, then 85% of the ulcers can be avoided. Also, nearly 41% of the middle and upper middle income group are prone to suffering from diabetic foot."
Similarly figures were shared by president of DFSI, Dr Ashok Das, who said that, "Of the 100 patients suffering from diabetes, 15% patients are found to be suffering from foot problems and of these 15% patients, nearly 50% have to undergo amputation. Around 45-54% of the young patients suffering from diabetes suffer from either norbridges or ulcers in their feet, which could sometimes lead to insensitivity in the foot. Currently 62.4 million people in India are diabetic."
Vyas launched DFSI's Ahmedabad Declaration, a first of its kind, that presents a pictorial and graphical simplification of the diabetic foot disease including all its important facets. DFSI intends to use this declaration as an important education tool in order to spread awareness about the disease across the country.
