La Nación / Diabetes becomes more lethal in Peru amid COVID-19 pandemic

Diabetes caused almost twice as many deaths this year in Peru as in 2019, amid the coronavirus health emergency, which left thousands of patients with chronic illnesses without care.

“There are more sick people, there is more mortality, almost double compared to 2019, and a social issue with patients who did not receive adequate medical care because they were not infected with coronavirus,” endocrinologist Segundo Nicolás Seclén, president of the Latin American Diabetes Association.

“The deaths of diabetic patients are between 30,000 and 40,000 people” this year in the Andean country, explains Seclén. “There are collapsed health centers and a lack of drugs such as insulin,” he adds.

Peru, with 33 million inhabitants, is the second most affected country in the world by COVID-19 in proportion to its population (only surpassed by Belgium) and counts more than 36,000 deaths and 980,000 confirmed cases.

The country had to dedicate its precarious health system to face the pandemic, since the first case of coronavirus was detected on March 6, which has had an impact on diabetes, which affects 7% of Peruvians.

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According to experts, the lack of specialist doctors and drugs for diabetes was evident since before in Peru. “Before the pandemic, the health system was already overwhelmed,” endocrinologist Ray Ticse, director of the Peruvian Diabetes Association, told AFP.

“A diabetic patient took up to four months to get an appointment at a hospital, and there was an absence of insulin, drugs or reagents in laboratories,” says Ticse, who is also a university professor.

“In March, consultations for chronic diseases were suspended and hospitals prioritized the management of COVID-19, with endocrinologists and cardiologists reassigned to shifts of patients suspected of coronavirus,” he details.

Little by little the doctors are returning to their regular shifts. “We are at 25% or 30% of care to avoid crowding the patients, who on the other hand fear going to the consultation and getting infected” with COVID-19, says Ticse.

But “there are diabetes patients who have not seen a doctor for more than six months, and in all that time they have had problems getting medicine and care,” he adds.

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In addition to the incidence of diabetes, 25% of the adult population suffers from prediabetes, a condition marked by eating habits that lead to obesity and overweight.

“The diabetes curves are in line with the increase in overweight and obesity,” the endocrinologist Romyna La Rosa, from the Institute of Neoplastic Diseases, told AFP.

“In Peru, overweight and obesity have been on the rise during the last 10 years, with the increase in fast foods and deliveries. 10 years ago we were in 5 or 6% of the population overweight and now we are between 8 and 11% ”, says La Rosa, who is a specialist in nutrition.

The confinement of more than 100 days by the pandemic also had consequences. La Rosa maintains that diabetics not only stopped receiving their medication but also worsened their diet and reduced physical activity.

“The pandemic has caused us to eat whatever is on hand, as quickly as possible at the nearby store, and a lot of sugary drinks,” says the doctor.

Dr. Seclén recalls that in Peru there is a law for the protection of diabetics issued in 2005, but he has never received a regulation that puts it into proper operation. The law raises three central aspects: the need for a national program against diabetes, creating and ordering a patient registry, and eliminating taxes on all inputs used by the pharmaceutical industry.

“Unfortunately in Peru, if there is no political noise about certain situations, they are not executed,” says Seclén.

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Source: Peru.

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