As many as 8,000 people die from diabetes every year in Thailand, and another 3.5 million are suffering from the disease.
The statistics were taken from a 2012 survey on people over 15 years old.
Thai Health Minister Pradit Sintawanarong said diabetes is rising inchildren due to eating food with high glucose levels, warning that thenumber of patients suffering from the disease could rocket to 4.7million within the next eight years.
He raisedconcerns that about one-third of the patients do not take theirsituation seriously, resulting in many of them getting other conditionssuch as blindness, and heart and kidney failure.
Inthe country, the annual cost of treatment stands at 47.6 billion baht(1.53 billion USD), therefore prevention is the most effective way, theminister assessed.
From 2014, Thai Health Ministrywill provide 90 percent of its population above the age of 15 withdiabetes tests along with recommendations for good eating habits andappropriate drugs.-VNA
The statistics were taken from a 2012 survey on people over 15 years old.
Thai Health Minister Pradit Sintawanarong said diabetes is rising inchildren due to eating food with high glucose levels, warning that thenumber of patients suffering from the disease could rocket to 4.7million within the next eight years.
He raisedconcerns that about one-third of the patients do not take theirsituation seriously, resulting in many of them getting other conditionssuch as blindness, and heart and kidney failure.
Inthe country, the annual cost of treatment stands at 47.6 billion baht(1.53 billion USD), therefore prevention is the most effective way, theminister assessed.
From 2014, Thai Health Ministrywill provide 90 percent of its population above the age of 15 withdiabetes tests along with recommendations for good eating habits andappropriate drugs.-VNA
