More than 80% of Portuguese know how to prevent type 2 diabetes, and 77% are aware of the risk factors associated with the disease, which has one of the highest prevalence rates in Europe in Portugal, according to a study published on Tuesday.
According to a survey released on Tuesday by the Association of Portuguese Diabetes Advocates, 77% of respondents said they knew their risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes, while 93% cited being overweight and obese as the most important factor, followed by a sedentary lifestyle. lifestyle (81%) and heredity (66%).
In addition, 84% of the 1,000 participants in this study believed they knew how to prevent disease, adding that the main strategies included eating healthy (97%), exercising (88%), and adopting a healthier lifestyle. healthy (82%).
Overall, 98% of respondents said they know what diabetes is, and 91% of them consider it “a disease in which blood sugar levels are too high,” according to the study, which arose from “Bayer’s need to assess Portuguese perceptions of diabetes.
To control or lose weight, the best strategy, according to the majority of respondents, is the practice of regular exercise (80%) and dieting under the guidance of a nutritionist (66%).
“This specialized monitoring for weight management should be preferably with face-to-face consultations only (51%) or, alternatively, face-to-face consultations interspersed with teleconference consultations (28%),” the study says.
Nine out of 10 respondents also said they were aware of the main complications of diabetes, with blindness and vision problems (90%), amputations (77%) and wound healing difficulties (76%) being the most frequently cited.
The survey found that 17% of respondents had diabetes, and 52% said they had a family member with the condition.
“In the test component of respondents’ knowledge of diabetes-related topics, the results were quite positive, indicating some knowledge of the population on the topic, since the majority of respondents were right about the veracity of almost all the statements made about the pathology. “, further push the conclusions.
This quantitative study was conducted using a telephone survey, among people aged 18 to 80 years, a thousand surveys were conducted between October 26 and November 6, 2022.
According to the latest figures from the International Diabetes Federation, Portugal has the second highest standardized prevalence of diabetes in the European Union, with 9.1% of the population aged 20 to 79, up from 6.2% in 27 countries overall.
At the end of November, the General Directorate of Health said more than 79,000 cases of diabetes had been reported in about a year, bringing the number of people registered with health centers with the disease to almost 880,000.
“Last year, there were 79,241 new cases of diabetes, with 879,853 people diagnosed with the disease registered at health centers,” the DGS said at the time, based on data from the National Diabetes Program (PND) for the October period. , from 2021 to September 2022.
The DGS acknowledged that, given the International Diabetes Federation’s estimates, this number “may indicate the existence of undiagnosed individuals,” leading the PND to maintain early diagnosis as a priority through the type 2 diabetes risk calculation assessment.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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