HealthScapades Episode #18 | The Evil Twin of Diabetes and Hypertension | 25.10.2024
by Tayo Fasuan
In recent years, attention has been increasingly paid to infectious diseases, with people like me guilty of shining more limelight on communicable diseases like Lassa, Cholera, Measles, and many others. This has arguably led to taking non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension out of the discussion of very deadly diseases, to which they rightly belong.
So when the Ekiti State Honourable Commissioner for Health and Human Services, Dr. Oyebanji Filani, who is also the Chairperson of the Nigerian Health Commissioners Forum, made a post about the “Know Your Number” programme, I knew I had to jump on board to shed more light on it.
You see, diabetes’s deadliness is actually understated because it is not only a metabolic disease. For instance, if Mr. Ademade has diabetes, it will involve checking for his inappropriately elevated blood glucose levels and asking critical questions about his family history, autoimmune diseases, and insulin resistance during the diagnosis.
One of the complications of diabetes is its effect on atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), where approximately two-thirds of those with the disease will die. So if Mr. Ademade and his eight friends have the disease, six of them will die from either severe myocardial infarction or stroke. It is also a common cause of blindness in adults aged 20 to 74 years, a leading cause of limb amputations, and a contributor to the development of bladder cancer.
Now, if Madam Ngozi has diabetes and hypertension, it is like birthing an evil twin. Hypertension is one of the most significant comorbidities contributing to the development of stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, and renal failure, most of which are similar to those of diabetes. That’s like double trouble for Madam Ngozi.
The “Know your number, control your number” movement initiated by the Nigeria Health Commissioners Forum is targeted at screening 10 million Nigerians for diabetes and hypertension, with the intent to provide patients with their measurements.
The current definition of hypertension (HTN) is systolic blood pressure (SBP) values of 130 mm Hg or more and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of more than 80 mm Hg. Type 1 diabetes is usually diagnosed by elevated serum glucose levels, which are fasting glucose greater than 126 mg/dL and random glucose over 200 mg/dL.
Prediabetes, which often precedes type 2 diabetes, presents with a fasting blood glucose level of 100 to 125 mg/dL or a 2-hour post-oral glucose tolerance test (post-OGTT) glucose level of 140 to 200 mg/dL. These numbers look random, but they are very important. Mr. Ademade and Madam Ngozi should take note.
To defeat the evil twin of diabetes and hypertension, one needs to know these numbers. Once you’re armed with those, the first step in overcoming these two dangerous diseases has already been taken.