#BTEditorial – Time to ‘seek and save’ against NCDs too

Even as Barbados and the rest of the world are gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic, of no less importance is the crippling tide of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) seemingly on the sidelines.

Oddly enough, COVID-19 has reinforced why NCDs – lifestyle diseases including high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, cancer, heart and kidney ailments are major threats.

We have all the evidence that those with the viral illness are at greatest risk of being severely sickened and even dying as those living with NCDs.

And just today, this point was again made as health officials confirmed that Barbados recorded its 47th death from the coronavirus. A 67-year-old woman who had comorbidities succumbed to the viral illness on Monday night at the Harrison Point facility after being admitted on May 6 and spending 12 days in isolation – nine of which were on a ventilator.

Simply put, those comorbidities were NCDs. 

In its statement, the Ministry of Health was at pains to point out that, “COVID-19 is still very much a threat, especially to certain high-risk groups, such as the elderly and those with non-communicable diseases”.

There is hardly a Barbadian who has not been affected personally or who does not have a relative, friend, colleague with an NCD.

Sobering data from health experts as they observed World Hypertension Day on Monday paint a grim picture.

During a virtual forum hosted by the Diabetes and Hypertension Association of Barbados in conjunction with the Heart and Stroke Foundation – Wuhloss Barbados, We under Pressure! – Associate Lecturer in Family Medicine at UWI Cave Hill and leading physician Dr. Colin Alert warned that the prevalence of Barbadians being diagnosed with hypertension has reached astronomical rates.

Though relying on data from 2015 to make his case, the point was not lost that we are facing a crisis.

He said: “A study called the Health of the Nation Study from the year 2015, found that among adults 25 years and older, the prevalence of hypertension was 42 per cent, so four out of 10 adults over the age of 25 had high blood pressure. Now is that bad? Let us backtrack a little. There was a study done in 1995 in that same age group, and in that study called International Collaborative Study on Hypertension in Blacks (ICSHIB), the prevalence of hypertension in Barbados was 21 per cent. So, in 1995 it was 21 per cent, 20 years later in 2015 it was 42 per cent.

“The prevalence of hypertension doubled in that 20-year spell in Barbados, so by all accounts things are getting worse.”

The statistics he shared on stroke and heart attacks were just as sombre.

He said: “In Barbados, we have a heart attack per day, which is 30 a month. Of that 30, 20 die. We have three strokes every two days, which is 45 a month, 20 of those die. So every month we have 40 people dying from heart attacks and strokes, [compared] to the 15 months we have had COVID, where 46 people died. So, every month, hypertensive related diseases cause a major amount of death.:

The rise in the incidence of NCDs has been attributed to four major risk factors: unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, excessive use of alcohol and tobacco use. They have resulted in countless deaths and crippled a large portion of our society from contributing to productivity and development.

Just as governments, our own and all around the world, have mobilized all resources to tackle COVID, they need to ratchet up the response to NCDs. And there need not be any competition, the two responses can be integrated.

Just as COVID requires comprehensive screening and testing to reduce the risk of death, so too do NCDs. Have we been encouraging Barbadians to get their blood sugar levels and pressure tested? How many of us are walking around pre-diabetic or have diabetes and don’t know?

Recently, Operation Seek and Save successfully tracked and reported on possible COVID-19 cases. A similar initiative would also be useful for NCDs.

Equally, all the messages we have about masking up, sanitizing and physical distancing can be tailored to similarly highlight the action we need to take to protect ourselves, our families and other loved ones from NCDs. Clearly, we have to invest in better management of NCDs with all key players- medical professionals, finance, education and agriculture officials, civil and church groups to reverse the current deadly trend.

Just as we waged war against a novel coronavirus, these silent killers called NCDs should be on the top of the national development agenda. Intense, coordinated and determined efforts must be made, with the involvement of all in our society, to significantly reduce the large numbers suffering from illness or facing death from NCDs.