Worrying ignorance of diabetes symptoms, in Asia and elsewhere, revealed
- Nine in 10 parents in China would struggle to identify warning signs of the disease in their children, survey finds
- Another survey finds a reluctance to get screened for diabetes even though respondents know the importance of having checks
Doctors and insurers have warned people in Asian countries need to wise up about diabetes and take the disease more seriously.
According to the World Health Organisation, more than 422 million people worldwide had diabetes in 2014, up from 108 million in 1980.
With November being Diabetes Awareness Month, a new study commissioned by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) found that in China, nine in 10 parents would struggle to identify warning signs of the illness in their children. Alarmingly, one in four said they wouldn’t spot the symptoms at all.
The findings prompted the organisation to highlight the need for education about its symptoms, which include excessive thirst, frequent urination, lack of energy, blurred vision, and wounds that take a longer time to heal.
More than 7,000 people were polled online in seven countries – China, Brazil, India, South Africa, Turkey, the UK and the United States. The respondents were aged from 18 to 75, and 46 per cent were parents with at least one child under 18 years of age.