The Upper East Regional Hospital will conduct free diabetes screening Friday in observance of World Diabetes Day, offering residents an opportunity to check their blood sugar levels at no cost.
Dr. Emmanuel Anafo, a physician specialist at the hospital, announced the screening exercise will take place Friday morning through early afternoon at the hospital’s outpatient department forecourt. The event is sponsored by Mega Life Sciences.
“Kindly show up in your numbers, get your values checked,” Dr. Anafo said during a health awareness program. “All are welcome.”
The screening comes as health officials mark Nov. 14 as World Diabetes Day.
Dr. Anafo explained that diabetes occurs when blood sugar levels remain persistently high in the bloodstream instead of entering cells to provide energy for daily activities.
“In plain language, diabetes, when we say somebody has diabetes, it just means that you have excess blood glucose or blood sugar in your blood,” he said.
The physician outlined several types of diabetes, including Type 1, which is more common in younger people and occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the pancreas, preventing it from producing insulin. Type 2 diabetes typically affects older individuals, particularly those who are obese or have a family history of the disease.
Pregnant women can develop gestational diabetes around 20 weeks into pregnancy, Anafo said, noting that hormones produced by the placenta, including progesterone and estrogen, trigger the condition — not excessive sugar consumption as commonly believed.
“It’s not as if the woman actually did something,” he explained.
Other categories include maturity-onset diabetes of the young and neonatal diabetes, which affects newborns.
Dr. Anafo emphasized that a diabetes diagnosis is not a death sentence.
“We have medications that we can manage you on, and the most important management for diabetes is your diet, physical activity, and taking the recommended medication by your doctor,” he said. “And you’ll be able to live a comfortable life.”
The hospital has not set a target number for screening participants but plans to accommodate all residents who attend.
Source: a1radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Bolgatanga
