Hypertension, diabetes rife in Ahmedabad: AMC survey

The entrepreneur Amdavadi across various economic strata now shows chronic signs of being both stressed and diabetic.   In one of the recent comprehensive medical camps run by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), for citizens across its urban health centers in the city, the civic body claims to have diagnosed 39% of the 70,000-odd patients who visited their clinics in the last four months as diabetic, with hypertension or suffering from both.

The patients that come to the civic body’s urban health centers belong to different socio-economic backgrounds and are being profiled by the health department. The results of the tests conducted between September last year till January first week of this year show that 34,080 patients out of the 70,018 were diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension or both.

Preliminary figures revealed by AMC claim that nearly 11,752 patients were detected with hypertension while 15,147 patients were detected with diabetes. The prevalence of both these diseases among men and women so far tested by the AMC are being collated. The other factors being listed are the age and socio-economic background of the patients.

In another unique initiative, the AMC is working on plans to conduct detailed checks for thyroid-related illnesses in women in the city. The proposal was discussed with senior members of the standing committee of the AMC in December last year and involves providing thyroid testing kits free of cost. The AMC had even written to few agencies requesting them to provide a project feasibility report. The project is being put on hold for sometime.

The massive program called ‘Project Thyrohealth’ includes conducting door-to-door survey to map occurrences of thyroid problems in women. One of the focus groups in this survey will be pregnant women. These women under this program will be provided with free thyroid testing kits. The AMC is analyzing whether pharma companies be asked to provide hormone testing machines free or on lease for the duration of the project. The kit costs anywhere between Rs 150 to Rs 200 in the market. A major awareness drive is also being planned.