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Nov 12, 2018 / 23:37

Vietnam raises awareness of early diabetes prevention

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Diabetes Federation chose November 14 as World Diabetes Day to promote coordinated actions to control diabetes which is a critical global health issue.

With the theme "Family acts together to early prevent diabetes", World Diabetes Day 2018 was held on November 11 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to raise people’s awareness of the importance of early diabetes prevention and control.

The event was jointly held by the Ministry of Health, the Vietnam Young Doctors' Association, the Vietnam Youth Union of Hanoi, and AstraZeneca Vietnam.  
 
Young doctors are giving advice related to diabetes. Photo: Lien Chau
Young doctors are giving advice related to diabetes. Photo: Lien Chau
On this occasion, doctors from eight major hospitals participated in a diabetes screening consultation for about 1,000 people living in two cities.

Prof. Tran Van Thuan, president of the Vietnam Young Doctors' Association, said that with this activity, doctors will provide knowledge to raise awareness of the impact of diabetes on the family and on the network information for supporting the affected people, promote family’s role in managing, looking after and preventing diabetes.

Prof. Thuan emphasized the importance of early screening to minimize the risk of complications, thereby lowering mortality and reducing the cost of treatment for people with diabetes.

Attending the event, Vietnamese Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said that one in five adults has hypertension and one in 25 people has diabetes mellitus. In non-communicable diseases, diabetes is the third leading cause of death in Vietnam. 

Minister Tien was concerned about the trend of non-communicable diseases, which is the leading cause of death in Vietnam. Seven out of every 10 people die from non-communicable diseases. With diabetes, only over 30% of people diagnosed with diabetes aged from 18 to 69 are diagnosed, and almost 70% remain unexamined. 

Doctors recommend that every person should have a health check every six months to detect early risk factors, then just adjusting the diet and doing the exercise to prevent diabetes.