Partnership forged to curb diabetes cases

MANILA, Philippines - Alarmed at the growing prevalence of diabetes in the country, societies dealing with the epidemic of type 2 diabetes, including the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) Philippine Chapter and Diabetes Philippines (DP), have partnered with research-based biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to increase public awareness on diabetes prevention and management.

Conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) in partnership with various medical societies, the National Nutrition and Health Survey II (NNHES II) showed that diabetes prevalence increased from 3.4 percent in 2003 to 4.8 percent in 2008.

The survey found that five in every 100 Filipinos have hyperglycemia (high fasting blood sugar), with hyperglycemia incidence peaking at age 50 to 59.

It also found that three in every 100 Filipinos have impaired fasting glucose (IFG) or pre-diabetes. If left uncontrolled, pre-diabetes can progress to full-blown diabetes.

“The survey revealed other worrying facts: more Filipinos are becoming overweight or obese and have impaired fasting blood sugar levels, which are risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Clearly, all stakeholders must work together to strengthen our advocacy on promoting a healthy lifestyle among Filipinos,” said Dr. Estrellita Fernando-Lopez, president of the AACE Philippine Chapter.

Founded in 1991, the AACE is dedicated to the principles of patient care, education and clinical research. Today, it has over 6,000 members in the United States and 91 countries around the world.

The AACE Philippine Chapter was established in 2006, the third international chapter outside of the US and the first in Southeast Asia.

“The latest National Nutrition and Health Survey showed that the number of Filipinos with type 2 diabetes is steadily increasing. We must step up our efforts to increase public awareness on diabetes prevention, early detection and management,” said Dr. Richard Elwyn Fernando, director of Diabetes Philippines.

Formerly known as the Philippine Diabetes Association, Diabetes Philippines has steadfastly worked to promote effective prevention and excellent diabetes care in the Philippines since it was founded in 1958.

It aims to reduce diabetes prevalence in the country and improve the quality of life of Filipinos with diabetes, a mission it hopes to achieve by 2020. Dr. Tommy Ty Willing is the current DP chairman and president.

Key AACE and DP officers, together with AstraZeneca, declared their commitment in increasing public awareness on diabetes during a recent press conference entitled “The A to Z of Diabetes Prevention and Management.”

“AstraZeneca is privileged to work with these societies in our common goal of reducing diabetes prevalence in the Philippines and providing quality care to Filipinos with diabetes,” said Amal Kelshikar, president of AstraZeneca Philippines.

“In AstraZeneca, R&D is at the heart of what we do as we continue to discover and develop innovative medicines to address unmet patient needs,” said Dr Chinnie Tan, medical director of AstraZeneca Philippines.

To help manage the increasing number of patients with type 2 diabetes in the Philippines, AstraZeneca recently launched a novel anti-diabetes drug, saxagliptin, which is approved by US FDA, EU-EMA and FDA Philippines to provide consistent and comprehensive blood sugar control by addressing all three key parameters of diabetes management, the so-called “glucose triad” of HbA1C, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and post-prandial plasma glucose (PPG).