Ludhiana, December 31
The district branch of National Integrated Medical Association (NIMA) organised a free osteoporosis and diabetes detection-cum-treatment camp at Shivpuri here yesterday. The camp was followed by a workshop on diabetes.
According to Dr Surendra Gupta, district secretary of NIMA, 220 patients were screened for osteoporosis through bone-mass density test, using state of the art latest scanner machine. Another 335 persons got their blood sugar level tested. Most of these persons were found to be suffering from either osteoporosis or diabetes, or both.
The medical check up was conducted by the team of NIMA doctors, comprising Dr Surendra Gupta, Dr Rajesh Thaper, Dr Sarjivan Sharma, Dr Inder Sharma, Dr K.K. Kharbanda, Dr D.P. Goyal, Dr Ranbir Singh, Dr Upender Vatsyayan, Dr Pradeep Nagrath, Dr Jasbir Singh Bawa, Dr Inderjeet Dhingra, Mr J.P. Singh and Mr I.B.Singh Nanda.
A workshop on diabetes was conducted by Dr Ramanbir Singh, consultant endocrinologist from SPS Apollo Hospital, in which he discussed various treatment strategies as per the requirements of the patients. It was generally felt that sharp rise of Diabetes Mellitus as also Osteoporosis in India was a pre-indicator of grave scenario ahead.
Both these diseases were on a rise because of increased westernisation and urbanisation as both these phenomenon had led to faulty food habits and decreased physical activity.
Dr Singh said, "Like diabetes, osteoporosis can also be taken care of in early stages effectively. In osteoporosis, bones become weak due to poor diet, deficient in calcium and other minerals. This happens in some conditions due to poor absorption of these elements in gut, leading to deficiency."
He observed that during pregnancy and lactation, increased demand of calcium led to development of osteoporosis in poorly-fed mothers. In these cases, calcium from bones was used by the body to meet the increased demand, thus leaving the bones deficient and weak. Women in post-menopausal phase were the worst sufferers due the hormonal changes in their bodies.
According to Dr Singh, slight modification in diets by addition of calcium rich, leafs vegetables, milk, curd, cheese, butter milk etc. could help a lot in preventing the onset of osteoporosis in the early phase. In the absence of adequate calcium intake from such foods, one had to take additional tablets and injections of calcium or vitamin D, along with other mineral trace elements, and that too for quite a long period.
Dr Gupta said diabetic population in India was around 35 million, which was expected to touch 70 millions by the year 2030. Prevalence of diabetes in the urban population was 12-16 percent, which had gone up by more than 50 per cent in the last 10 years. Insulin resistance was the major contributor due to bad eating habits, sedentary life style, leading to obesity, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus.
He was of the view that diabetic families should be regularly advised and informed about latest information on the disease to prevent hereditary transmission. Minor life style modifications and sticking to particular guidelines from young age, were also advised. As a preventive step, the significance of blood sugar estimation at regular interval for diabetic families was stressed upon.
