The compassion and care diabetes requires

Detailed summary

Prof. Dr. Indrajit Prasad: Lack of awareness means not knowing the facts about diabetes. Stigma goes further, involving negative attitudes, unfair judgement and discrimination. People with diabetes may be labelled weak, careless or greedy or blamed for their condition.

In an interview with The Daily Star Prof. Dr. Indrajit Prasad, Head of the Department of Endocrinology at Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Secretary General of the Association of Clinical Endocrinologist & Diabetologist of Bangladesh (ACEDB) discusses how diabetes-related stigma, shame and social misconceptions affect patients’ emotional well-being and treatment and why families and society must respond with empathy, understanding and support.

The Daily Star (TDS): When we talk about diabetes stigma, what exactly does it mean? How is it different from a general lack of awareness about the disease?

Prof. Dr. Indrajit Prasad: Lack of awareness means not knowing the facts about diabetes. Stigma goes further, involving negative attitudes, unfair judgement and discrimination. People with diabetes may be labelled weak, careless or greedy or blamed for their condition.

In my clinics, I see how shame causes emotional distress, discourages patients from discussing their condition and ultimately keeps them away from necessary treatment.

TDS: In Bangladesh, diabetes is sometimes perceived as a disease of older or wealthy people. How do these misconceptions affect younger patients and people from lower-income backgrounds?

IP: Diabetes knows no age or economic boundaries. Type 1 diabetes usually begins in childhood or adolescence, while type 2 is increasingly diagnosed among people in their twenties and thirties, sometimes even teenagers. South Asians also tend to develop type 2 diabetes at younger ages and lower body weights.

When diabetes is considered an elderly or wealthy person’s disease, young people may ignore symptoms out of embarrassment, while lower-income families may assume they are not at risk. Such beliefs delay screening and treatment.

TDS: How often do you encounter patients who hide their diabetes from friends, colleagues or even family members out of fear of social judgement, embarrassment or self-blame?

IP: Many patients hide their condition from colleagues…

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Daily Star. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.