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 Health & Beauty | June 2005 
Diabetes a Looming Crisis in Mexico
 Eliza Barclay - The Herald Mexico
Drastic changes in the Mexican diet, combined with reduced exercise in the last 15 years, has made diabetes a major health concern in the nation, public officials say.
According to the Mexican Health Secretariat, the number of patients with diabetes grew seven times in the last 20 years, making the disease the fourth highest cause of death in Mexico.
Over the next decade, widespread diabetes could bankrupt Mexico's health system, with the annual cost of treating patients expected to double in less than five years, according to a recent study by the Instituto Nacional Para La Salud Publico (INSP).
The actual cost of caring for diabetic patients has grown to US317 million annually, according to the report by the INSP released last month.
These costs are equivalent to 34 percent of the budget allocated for public health insurance for 2005 and will require the assistance of more than 43,000 doctors working in the country.
The report noted that, should the current growth persist, there will be 31.3 percent more cases of diabetes in 2010 than in 2004, and medical costs are expected to rise accordingly.
Scientists have been noting the rise in diabetes in Mexico for more than 10 years and attribute the increase to three major factors: changes in traditional diet, reduced exercise and demographic shifts that occur with migration.
According to Agustín Lara Esqueda, director of the Health Program for Adults and the Elderly in the Health Secretariat, today there are 6.5 million Mexicans with diabetes and 35 percent of them are unaware that they have the disease.
"The rise in diabetes cannot be contributed to one specific thing diet, exercise and demographic transition are all key factors," Lara said in an interview. "To us the most important tool in fighting diabetes is education and Mexico already has in place one of the best prevention and education programs in the world."
DETERIORATING DIETARY HABITS
In a study of the Mexican diet conducted over 15 years, Lara discovered that four elements of the Mexican diet have changed substantially. Consumption of fruits and vegetables has declined by 29 percent, and the consumption of milk derivatives has also declined by 26 percent. Meanwhile, the intake of carbohydrates has increased 6.25 percent, and the consumption of soft drinks has increased 37 percent.
American public health officials have recently been documenting the link between soft drinks and diabetes.
A 2004 study published by the Harvard Nurses' Health Study, which included data from 50,000 U.S. nurses, showed that those who drank a single serving of soda or fruit punch per day gained weight faster than those who drank less than one soda a month. Those who consumed more also had an 80 percent increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
The risk was specifically associated with those who consumed drinks sweetened with either sugar or high-fructose corn syrup.
In Mexico's rural communities, soft drinks are widely available in shops where other foodstuffs are not. For example, at a small bodega, or convenience shop in the community of Santa Ana Hueytlalpa in the state of Hidalgo a town with no more than 4,000 residents several soft drink brands were available while basic supplies like rice, milk and meat were not.
BORDER VULNERABLE
An area of Mexico where the diabetes epidemic has most clearly been identified is the border with the United States.
A recently published study by the by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Mexican Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization revealed that people living along the U.S.-Mexico border have higher rates of diabetes and are more overweight than the national averages in both Mexico and the United States. The survey covered more than 4,000 people living in the border area.
The study also showed that almost 16 percent of border residents suffer from Type 2 diabetes. The national rate in Mexico is 14.9 percent and in the United States it is 13.9 percent.
According to Lara, the Mexican government's efforts to inform its population particularly with programs like the web site www.todoendiabetes.org are some of the most progressive in the world.
"Mexico may again be on the list of the ten countries with the most cases of diabetes this year when the results are published in November," Lara said. "But we have the only binational program in the world (with the United States) and I think we are doing a good job addressing the problem and trying to prevent it."
Eliza Barclay is a freelance journalist based in Mexico City. elizabarclay@hotmail.com |
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