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Diabetes is a clinical conditions whereby the

pancreas does not produce enough insulin, or

when the body cannot effectively use the insulin

it produces.

Over the past two decades, the prevalence of

Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in Mauritius (MRU) has

remained one of the highest in the world with

no significant improvement. In 2010, MRU

ranked 4th (16.2%) in the world and 1st in

Africa. Heart & DM Institute in Australia predicts

that in 2030 MRU will rank third with 19.8%.

There are ~120 000 diabetics in the country but

very few of those who know that they have DM

have a good control of their health.

The impact of DM on human health is alarming.

At least 80% (400) of all limb amputations done

in the country are from diabetes. It is the most

common cause of blindness in the country and

more than 50% of diabetics die of coronary

heart disease. It has been reported that about

99% of Mauritians with DM suffer from type 2.

At present, 15% of adults aged 20 years and

over have diabetes while 20% above 30 years

have the disease. Percentage of DM death over

total death has increased from 7.85%(1985) to

23.6% (2010).

400 is the number of limbs amputation carried out every year for non-traumatic cases of gangrene foot out of a population of 1.2 million. This occurs in a small island where healthcare facilities are provided free of charge in government institutions. Yet, this small island in the Indian Ocean has the

second highest prevalence of DM in the world and the first in Africa. The aim of this survey is to see how far the young generation stands from diabetes. They might be among the future diabetics patients. Diabetes lead too many dreadful complications, are those youngsters aware of this fact? If

yes, what precautions are they taking? We also wished to see whether those with a close relative suffering from diabetes are taking some preventive steps. To answer these questions and many others, a questionnaire based study was carried out. 250 youngsters (age 14 - 25 years) coming from

secondary schools across the island and tertiary institutions (UoM, UTM and SSRMC) were made to fill in a questionnaire. Their eating habits, sports activities and background knowledge about DM were inquired. The results clearly demonstrate the nibbling habits of those Mauritians – 169(68%)

eat in between breakfast and lunch, 188 (75%) in between lunch and dinner and 170 (68%) before going to bed. Surprisingly in an island with a vast economic exclusive zone, 22 % do not eat fish at all while 13% only consume fish about thrice a week. 49.2% participants eat only one fruit per day

and 13.6 % do not like fruits. Furthermore, 38.4 % said that they do not drink a cup of tea/ coffee without adding two teaspoons of sugar. A significant amount (43.2 %) affords to take out only 1 hour per week to practice some physical activities and 12.4 % seem to have no time at all. Regarding

complications of diabetics, 13.2 % clearly are ignorant about those. 67.9% agree that DM lead to eye problems, 49.6 % agreed about foot ulcers, 46.8% were aware of kidney damage and 39.2 % knew that CVS problems / MI / stroke are among the complications. 75% of the interviewees have a

family history of Diabetes. But 50.4% of the participant says they are not taking any precautions at all. The majority of those taking some precautions think that only controlling sugar intake is going to protect them from this disease. With Yates chi-square of 0.95632 (>0.384) and value of phi= 0.06, it

implies that there is no association between family history of Diabetes and those people taking preventive measures. These alarming results should be taken into consideration. Else, Mauritius will come out first worldwide with the highest prevalence of Diabetes.

Prof. Sushil Dawka, Dept of Surgery SSRMC

Dr Yannick Tangman, Dept of Maths, UoM

Parents, Family, Friends & Relatives

n = 250

Precautions taken

against Diabetes

Mellitus

FAMILY

HISTORYYES NO

Positive 97 57

Negative 60 36

Ho: Family History & taking precautions are independent

Ha: Family History & taking precautions are dependent

Yates' p-value= 0.95632 (p >0.384)

Hence Ho is not rejected

phi= 0.06

This implies very little association between the 2 Variables.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of diabetes

among youngsters

Objectives:

To design & carry out questionnaire survey

To test the knowledge of youngsters about

diabetes, its consequences & preventive

measures

To study the eating habits of youngsters

To look for potential relationship between

family history of diabetes & extent of taking

preventive measures against diabetes

Designing survey questionnaire

Piloting testing and optimisationof questionnaire

Data collection-administration of

questionnaire

Computing and analysis of data using

SPSS software

survey detail

• Sample size : 250

• Target age group: 14 - 25 years

• Target institutions: UoM, UTM, SSRMC, CTI, secondary schools

Part I• Personal information of respondents

Part II

• Eating habits and types of food consumed

Part III

• Frequency of different types of food consumed and exercise

Part IV

• Knowledge about diabetes and relationship between family history with adopted preventive measures

A higher number of respondent has revealed to eat

or drink in between the different meals, with a

slighter higher number of respondent eating or

drinking between lunch and dinner, leading to

exhaustion of the pancreas

Fish is an important source of omega 3 fatty

acids, which reduce fat accumulation and

secretion of the hormone leptin, which has been

found to precipitate the disease. The study has

shown that the majority of youngsters (65%)

consume fish less than 3 times per week. 22% of

respondents do not consume fish at all.

Fruits reduces

stress on the

pancreas and

decrease the

risk of diabetes

(BMG, 2010).

However, the

majority of

respondents

have only 1 fruit

serving per day,

while very few

have more than

5 fruit servings.

Youngsters take commonly 1-2 teaspoons of

sugar per cup of tea or coffee, while few of

them take sugar-free tea or coffee, implying

that the consumption of sugar is quite high.

Exercise decrease blood glucose level by

increasing the rate of its intake by muscles and

prevent obesity. It can thus prevent Type II

diabetes. Most youngsters practice 1 hour of

exercise per week but there are some of them

that practice 2- >3 hours of exercise and 31

respondents have revealed to practice no

exercise at all.

The study showed that most respondents are

aware of the complications related to diabetes.

However, 33 out of the 250 respondent revealed

that they are unaware about the different

complications.

In both cases of positive

and negative family

history of Diabetes

Mellitus, a higher

number of youngsters

take precautions

against the disease.

However, this was more

significant among

youngsters having

positive family history.

The following conclusions can be drawn from the study:

• Snacking between meals is frequent among

youngsters

• Fish & fruit consumption is low among youngsters

• Majority of respondent consume too much of sugar in

their drinks

• A higher number of respondents practice only 1 hour

of exercise weekly.

• Respondents are aware about the different

complications of diabetes but there is a proportion

that has no knowledge about these.