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About one in every ten people has diabetes
About one in every ten people has diabetes. This was part
of the message given about diabetes at the Pattaya City Expats Club meeting
on Sunday, May 18, by Dr. Mayura Tepkasetkul. She works at the Diabetes
Mellitus & Endocrinology Center of Bangkok Hospital Pattaya (BHP). In
addition to her presentation, BHP provided free glucose blood sugar tests
and blood pressure checks for members and guests.
 Dr.
Mayura Tepkasetkul works at the Diabetes Mellitus & Endocrinology Center of
Bangkok Hospital Pattaya (BHP). In addition to her presentation, BHP
provided free glucose blood sugar tests and blood pressure checks for
members and guests.
Diabetes (also known as diabetes mellitus) is a disease caused by high blood
sugar. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough insulin
or to the cells of the body not responding properly to the insulin that is
produced. Dr Mayura said that, globally, about 371 million have diabetes,
90% of which have Type 2 diabetes. She added that by 2030 the number of
people with diabetes is expected to reach 500 million.
China and India, which have the world’s largest populations, also have the
largest number of people with diabetes: 92 million and 63 million
respectively. The USA has 24 million people with diabetes.
According to the Health intelligence website
(http://healthintelligence.drupalgardens. com), North America and the
Caribbean is the region with the highest prevalence (11%) followed by the
Middle East and North Africa (9.2%). According to the National Health
Examination Survey (NHES), in Thailand prevalence of diabetes in individuals
aged 15 and over has increased over time from 2.3% in 1991 to 4.6% in 1997,
to 6.8% in 2004, and to 6.9% in 2009. (See www.
globalizationandhealth.com/content/9/1/11.)
There are three main types of diabetes mellitus: (a) Type 1 diabetes results
from the body’s failure to produce insulin; (b) Type 2 diabetes results from
insulin resistance, a condition in which cells fail to use insulin properly,
sometimes accompanied by insulin deficiency; and (c) Gestational diabetes
which occurs when pregnant women without a previous diagnosis of diabetes
develop a high blood glucose level.
MC Richard Silverberg
presented Dr Mayura with a Certificate of Appreciation from Pattaya City
Expats Club, as a thank you for her comprehensive presentation.
She mentioned that the classic symptoms of untreated
diabetes are weight loss, frequent urination and increased hunger. Symptoms
may develop rapidly (in weeks or months) in Type 1 diabetes, while they
usually develop much more slowly and may be subtle or absent in Type 2
diabetes. Prolonged high blood sugar (or glucose) can cause glucose
absorption in the lens of the eye, which leads to changes in its shape,
resulting in vision changes. Blurred vision is a common complaint leading to
a diabetes diagnosis. A number of skin rashes can occur in diabetes.
Dr. Mayura explained that some symptoms are more common in Type 1 diabetes -
i.e., weight loss, lethargy, abdominal pain or discomfort, and
hyper-ventilation. Over time, high levels of blood sugar can lead to eye
disease, heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, impaired blood flow to the
lower legs, and nerve damage.
 Board
member Darrel Vaught, also Media Manager, advises members of updates to both
the newsletter and the website.
Diabetes is a chronic disease for which there is no known cure except in
very specific situations. Management of diabetes centres on keeping blood
sugar levels as close to normal as possible without causing hypoglycemia
(too low a level of blood sugar). Sometimes, this can be accomplished with
just diet and exercise. In the slides she used for her presentation, Dr.
Mayura listed the “top 20 power foods” for people with diabetes. The list
included asparagus, blueberries, red grapefruit, beans, broccoli, carrots,
fish, flaxseed, cranberries, apples, melon, nuts, oatmeal, red onions,
raspberries, spinach, soy, tea, tomatoes and yogurt.
If diet and exercise are not sufficient, oral medications (for Type 2
diabetes) and insulin (for Type 1 diabetes) are added. Insulin can also be
used for Type 2 diabetes if the oral medications are not effective.
Metformin is generally recommended as the first line treatment for Type 2
diabetes. If metformin alone is not sufficient to bring blood sugar levels
under control, another drug may be added in combination, possibly from one
of the following classes of drugs: sulfonylureas, thiazolidinediones and
DPP-4 inhibitors. It is also possible to use a three-drug combination. A new
treatment mentioned by Dr. Mayura is being studied and could become
available in a year or so. It is called Glukagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). It
would likely be administered as a once-a-week injection.
Dr. Mayura said that as part of managing diabetes, many people monitor their
blood sugar levels using a glucose meter. According to the Mayo Clinic,
target levels are: after fasting at least eight hours - between 90 and 130
milligrams per decilitre (mg/dL) or 5 and 7 millimoles per litre (mmol/L);
before meals - between 70 and 130 mg/dL, or 4 and 7 mmol/L; and one to two
hours after meals - lower than 180 mg/dL, or 10 mmol/L.
After the presentation, Master of Ceremonies Richard Silverberg brought
everyone up to date on upcoming events and then called on Roy Albiston to
conduct the always interesting and informative Open Forum; where question
are asked and answered about expat living in Thailand, especially Pattaya.
For more information on the Pattaya City Expats Club and their many
activities, visit www.pcecclub.org.
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Sophon Cable awards 1.3 million baht in prizes at
2nd ‘Big Thank You’ event
Sophon CEO Chanyuth Hengtrakul
called Wised Nathongrat, the winner of the car, to give him the good news via a
live broadcast.
Warunya Thongrod
Sophon Cable TV handed out 1.3 million baht in prizes during its second-annual
“Big Thank You” to customers.
Vice-President Rattanakij Hengtrakul emceed the May 17 “Big Thanks, Come Back”
event at Central Festival Pattaya Beach, awarding a Honda Brio, four motorbikes,
package vacations for two to Hong Kong and Japan, gold jewelry, smartphones and
more.
Sophon CEO Chanyuth Hengtrakul called Wised Nathongrat, the winner of the car,
to give him the good news via a live broadcast.
GMM Grammy music-label artists The Star and Teen Mic Idol TV shows entertained
those attending.
The contest was open to current and new customers. Subscribers received a
prize-drawing ticket for each month of their subscriptions.
Norwegians celebrate National Day in Pattaya
Jan Olav Aamlid
Pattaya’s Norwegian community celebrated the 200th anniversary of their
country’s constitution at the Norwegian Church Abroad on Thappraya Soi 7.
About 400 people joined the celebration that started in the morning with a
Norwegian breakfast for nearly 300. After breakfast Norwegian expats and
tourists waved flags and shouted hurray for the constitution at the annual
National Day parade.
There was no marching band, which is the tradition in Norway, but powerful
speakers amped up the music.
The parade ended at the church where the Anne Tørisen from
Cha Am told of her experiences as a Norwegian living abroad. Senior pastor
Ragnvald Seierstad gave some background about the constitution, which was
written on May 17, 1814 in Eidsvoll and signed the next day. Ragnvald also gave
some of the background of the parade. The first May 17 parades were for adults,
but later changed to a day for children. The national anthem was sung.
The traditional May 17 menu of hot dogs, cakes, ice cream,
coffee and soft drinks were served and some children competed to see how many
hot dogs and ice creams they could eat. Fortunately, any resulting stomach
problems did not occur at the church.
Children also enjoyed games in the parking lot, including races with potatoes on
spoons, sack races and darts.
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Bangkokians help clean Pattaya beaches
After cleaning with some of the rubbish.
Fone Green
A bus full of students from the Thailand Chinese International School
Bangkok made a big impact on Wongamat Beach on Saturday the 17th of May. For two
hours the 40 students, plus teachers and volunteers and members of Rotary E Club
of the Carolinas, cleaned the beach. The focus was on smaller items like sharp
glass, bottle caps and other items that could cut swimmers. The low tide made it
easy to spot the many broken bottles across the beach and everybody helped out
to clean them up.
The cleaning was a big success and many TV stations and press were present. A
donation of 5000 THB was handed over to Green Pattaya from TCIS for its work to
keep Pattaya clean. A promise from the school to come back in August was also
made by the teachers. Is it time for the Pattaya companies and school to help
clean Pattaya as well?
This was Green Pattaya’s 18th cleaning, and the 19th will be the World Ocean Day
on the 8th of June. Green Pattaya is looking for companies, schools and
charities that want to help to coordinate a number of cleanups on that day
around Pattaya. Please get in contact with Green Pattaya for more information.
The 20th anniversary cleaning will be held with Dive Tribe and the Thai Chinese
International School Bangkok on the island of Koh Sak just outside Pattaya. It
will be a fun day out and Green Pattaya is inviting everybody to join in. The
date is soon to be announced depending on the tide.
Please contact Fone at phone 083 017 0632 Thai English, and visit these links
for more information to come and join Green Pattaya on World Ocean Day.
TCIS making the beach safe.
Neo talks about small things to
pick up.
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