Bandar Seri Begawan - One in every eight Bruneian is a diabetic, according to a specialist from the Diabetic Centre.

Datin Dr Hjh Haslinda Hassan said diabetes is the third cause of death and fourth cause of morbidity in Brunei.

She said this during her presentation on 'What You Need to Know about Diabetes' on the final day of the Knowledge Convention 2012 at the International Convention Centre yesterday.

She also warned that children as young as 12 years old, who do not control their diet, will face complications of diabetes in 10 to 15 years' time when they join the workforce.

Some of the complications include having to go through dialysis and losing vision.

Patients as young as 12 who fail to control their diabetes "won't be able to contribute much, as they will face health issues at their most productive age".

The most productive age is when they (people) are in their twenties or thirties.

Datin Dr Hjh. Haslinda also mentioned that diabetes affects the normal development of a child or teenager including their progress at school and journey towards adulthood. The daily routines are disrupted because they (the children) have to regularly check their glucose levels, take medication and balance their activities and food intake.

She also highlighted that 63.8 per cent (561 people) who underwent coronary bypass are diagnosed with diabetes from the total of 879 cases. She went on to say that 32.4 per cent (865 people) out of 2,668 cases suffering from diabetes have undergone angioplasty cases.

"These records are obtained since the establishment of Gleneagles Hospital in 2003 until last year (2011)," she added.

Meanwhile, a study conducted at Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital showed 40 cases of leg amputations due to diabetes last year.

In the same year, a total of 562 patients were required to undergo dialysis, 60 per cent of which were caused by diabetes.

"Gestational diabetes (or gestational diabetes mellitus, GDM) a condition in which women who are not previously diagnosed with diabetes have a 50 per cent higher chance to be diagnosed with diabetes five to 10 years after pregnancy," she added.

--Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin