Paulina Ampomah and Yazid Imoru
University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Diabetes Res Endocrinol
About 4 million Ghanaians live with diabetes and many more are gradually becoming victims because of lack of physical activities, poor diet and excessive alcohol intake. With the increasing prevalence of obesity among Ghanaians, especially women, we carried out a baseline study to evaluate the incidence of diabetes in the Cape Coast metropolis of the central region of Ghana. We analyzed secondary data on first diabetic cases from four major carefully selected health facilities in the Cape Coast metropolis. These are University of Cape Coast Hospital (UCC), Cape Coast Metropolitan Hospital (CCMH), Adisadel and Ewim Polyclinics. Records on 3,791 newly diagnosed diabetic cases with fasting blood sugar (glucoses levels) above 6.1 mmol/L were retrieved from laboratory records with additional information on age and sex over a period of five years (2011 to 2015). The median blood glucose levels for each year, age group and sex were estimated using Microsoft Excel and student t test. Our findings showed CCMH recording the highest blood glucose level 9.2 mmol/L over the period. Diabetes mellitus increased exponentially from 2014 (without CCMH) after a progressive decline in previous years whereas age group (<20-50) years and females were mostly affected. In conclusion, diabetes mellitus has assumed proportional increase since 2014 in the Cape Coast metropolis after a progressive decline previously. There should be intensive public education to create awareness on the causes of diabetes and how to prevent the occurrence and or manage the disease.
Paulina Ampomah has graduated from University of Copenhagen, Denmark as a Biomedical Scientist with specialty in B cell immunity and lymphocyte exhaustion markers. She is a Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, where she is continuing with her research work.
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