Up to several hundred thousand people in Poland do not know that they have diabetes. The majority of the 3 million patients who have a diagnosis are not being treated as recommended. Access to optimal therapy and care remains a great challenge, especially for people with type 2 diabetes and those under 75 years of age who cannot count on even a portion of free medication. It is frightening that in 2018, diabetes is still a taboo subject in Poland - on the occasion of World Diabetes Day, says Anna Sliwinska, President of the Board of the Polish Diabetes Association.
A silent epidemic
It is estimated that more than 422 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes[1]. Approximately 3 million people in Poland suffer from diabetes, with almost 1 million people unaware of it - the disease has not yet been diagnosed and is not being treated.[2] The incidence is increasing year on year. For years, people have been talking about diabetes as a disease of civilisation which has assumed epidemic proportions. Unfortunately, in Poland, diabetes is a silent epidemic - both the disease itself and public awareness of it are taboo. Surprisingly little is known about it, both by patients who have heard the diagnosis and by their families, who do not always know how to support their loved ones.
According to a recent report by the Institute for Health Protection entitled "Diabetes. "Diabetes: where are we, where are we going?"[3]Many Polish patients only find out about their diabetes when they develop life-threatening complications, such as a heart attack or a stroke. This is a clear example of the fact that the lack of public awareness of diabetes is very widespread and has significant social consequences - for patients, their families, their employers and, finally, for the state budget.
Sickness - taboo
From the latest report "Polish family with diabetes"[4]developed by Association for Diabetes Education, Health and Education Foundation Ad Meritum resultsthat it is often a challenge for patients with diabetes just to talk about their disease. Many patients have to deal not only with diabetes, but in addition with accompanying conditions, among them hypertension, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), cardiovascular disease and depression. Such a burden, combined with the daily responsibilities of patients, often becomes a reason for failing to eat properly, take appropriate medication, engage in physical activity, and seek psychological support from loved ones. The consequences - complications of diabetes, can be deadly, lead to disability or death, so education of patients, but also of society as a whole, is a very important step in the fight against this deadly epidemic. [...]
The entire text is available at Polish Diabetes Association
[1] http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/diabetes
[2] http://www.mojacukrzyca.org/pliki/download/Raport_Polska_rodzina_z_cukrzyca.pdf
[3] http://www.rpp.gov.pl/raport_cukrzyca_18.pdf
[4] http://www.mojacukrzyca.org/pliki/download/Raport_Polska_rodzina_z_cukrzyca.pdf