DIABETES-RELATED EYE COMPLICATIONS SCREENING FOR THE ELDERLY ON WORLD DIABETES DAY 14/11
Prima Medical Center Saigon and Hoan My Cuu Long Hospital organized a program of diabetes screening for elderly people
News from our member Prima Medical Center Saigon
On the occasion of World Diabetes Day, Prima Medical Center Saigon* in collaboration with another Hoan My sister provider – Hoan My Cuu Long Hospital organized a program of diabetes screening for the financially vulnerable elderly people in Can Tho City, Mekong Delta region, South of Vietnam.
The current situation of diabetes in Vietnam
According to statistics from Vietnam’s Ministry of Health, the situation of diabetes control in Vietnam remains challenging as the rate of people with the disease increases rapidly and becomes increasingly younger.
Specifically, over the past 10 years, diabetes in Vietnam has increased rapidly from 2.7% of the population in 2002, to 5.4% in 2012 and 7.06% in 2021 in the age group 18-69, with nearly 4.5 million people infected. 60% of cases have eye complications.
The alarming diabetes rate of elderly people in Mekong Delta
According to survey results of the Central Endocrine Hospital, elderly people in the Mekong Delta region have the highest rate of diabetes in Vietnam, with a rate of 7.2%.
The reason is that people here like to eat sweets, and sugar is used a lot in daily dishes. In addition, due to favorable natural conditions, food in the South of Vietnam is very rich, many types of cakes are made from starch, fruits have a lot of sugar and most people like it, so it is difficult to control sugar intake, making it difficult to control sugar intake. The rate of diabetes is higher, especially in overweight and obese elderly people.
Diabetic retinopathy – Typical eye complications of diabetes
The most typical eye complication of diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, in addition to macular edema, glaucoma, and cataracts. These are the main causes of blurred vision and blindness in people with diabetes.
Diabetic retinopathy is a disease that occurs when the micro blood vessels in the retina are damaged due to increased blood sugar, impairing vision and even causing blindness in people with diabetes. This is also a common disease among old people in Mekong Delta region.
Diabetes screening for more than 500 elderly people
Because diabetes and eye complications from diabetes are increasing in old people in this region, ophthalmologists from Prima Medical Center Saigon along with doctors, nurses, and support staff from Hoan My Cuu Long Hospital participated in free diabetes screening and medicine distribution for 500 elderly people over 50 years old in the area.
Many old people are waiting for eye screening
General health screening – including internal and external examinations and cardiovascular screening – including blood pressure measurement and screening for cardiovascular diseases performed by doctors and nurses from Hoan My Cuu Long Hospital.
Elderly people are receiving a general health screening
After that, Ophthalmologists from Prima Medical Center Saigon measured eye health and performed microscopic ophthalmoscopy for the elderly to screen for eye diseases related to diabetes.
An ophthalmologist from Prima Medical Center Saigon is doing eye screening for old people
Through the program, Prima Saigon Medical Center and Hoan My Cuu Long Hospital convey the physicians’ concern for the lives and health of the elderly, draw attention to issues of paramount importance to diabetes-related eye complications as well as express the desire to contribute essential values for the community on the occasion of World Diabetes Day 2023.
*Prima Medical Center Saigon is a member of Hoan My Medical Corporation, which is a leading private healthcare system in Vietnam, including 15 hospitals and 5 clinics nationwide and serving 5 million patients in Vietnam every year.