ASIA/CAMBODIA - Alarm for chronic diseases: 4.2 million people a year at risk in South-east Asia

Phnom Penh (Agenzia Fides) – According to the Cambodian Government's statistics, one-third of the Country's population lives below the national poverty line on 75 cents a day. From information gathered by Fides, the rapid changes in lifestyle in recent decades, together with the growing poverty in Cambodia have favoured the emergence of another health problem in Cambodia: the increasing incidence of diabetes. From about 14.5 million inhabitants, approximately 352,000 adults have diabetes, according to the 2009 Diabetes Atlas published by the Belgium-based International Diabetes Federation. In 2005, about 255,000 people suffered from diabetes.
According to the International Diabetes Federation's records, in 2010 there were about 8,000 who died from the disease. Government figures report more than 200 deaths a year caused by malaria and a thousand from HIV/AIDS. “This is a silent killer,” said Lim Keuky, author of a 2005 study and head of the Cambodian Diabetes Association, as it is “not recognised until the onset of symptoms, when it is often too late to intervene.” The researcher had found a high prevalence of cases, 5%, in Siem Reap, a north-western province, and 11% in the central-eastern province of Kampong Cham. Despite the Country's poverty and still very traditional lifestyles in Cambodia, economic growth and urbanization have still led to changed diets, even for the poorest people. About 80% of all diabetes cases are recorded in low and middle-income earners, and the disease mainly affects people between 45 and 64 years. Globally, about 4 million deaths each year are attributed to this disease, compared with 3 million caused by AIDS and 1 million by malaria. Diabetes is responsible for about 5% of all deaths globally each year and, according to WHO, if measures are not immediately taken, the numbers could exceed 50% over the next 10 years. A new study published in the journal “Lancet”, says that chronic diseases such as diabetes may kill up to 4.2 million people a year in South-east Asia by 2030. (AP) (9/2/2011 Agenzia Fides)