HEALTH: Diabetes, the disease that eats away 10% of the Saint-Martin population

The Saint Martin Santé association is redoubling its efforts in November, diabetes month, in its prevention and awareness work concerning this pathology.

During a press conference, Chantale Thibaut, director of Saint Martin Santé, surrounded by Arlene Jeffry (psychologist), Doctor Florence Frété (general practitioner), Doctor Roland Magloire-Membeke (general practitioner) and Alouska Lake (liberal nurse), did not fail to recall the alarming figures linked to the disease of diabetes: if the percentage of diabetics in metropolitan France is 5%, that of the inhabitants of Saint Martin is around 10% against 8% in the West Indies. The main causes of this “bad reputation” disease are generally hereditary factors, a poor lifestyle (poor diet, lack of physical activity) and sedentary lifestyle. 2021 marks 100 years of the discovery of insulin, highlighting the importance of access to care to treat diabetes. Insulin is a hormone naturally produced by the pancreas, more precisely by specialized cells located in the islets of Langerhans. It allows glucose (sugar) to enter the cells of the body. These will either use the glucose for energy or store it in the liver and muscles for future use. In short, it plays a regulatory role by keeping blood sugar at normal values. In diabetic patients, the pancreas does not or does not produce enough insulin. Saint Martin Santé devotes itself on a daily basis to restoring the false truths circulating on this pathology which, consequently, is killed or not detected. Information work is essential in the process of understanding and accepting the disease, it then leads to the care essential for a return to a "normal" life, including taking insulin, without waiting for the irreversible consequences of diabetes ( blindness, amputation, dialysis). Without forgetting the stress generated by this state, and that, Saint Martin Santé understood it too, setting up workshops of well-being, sophrology and sports activities thus allowing patients to reconnect with themselves and find together. _VX