Dr Peek-Ball Attends Health Conference In Aruba

Bermuda’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Cheryl Peek-Ball is currently in Aruba this week attending CARPHA’s 59th Caribbean Health Research Conference.

The Health Ministry said, “The conference addresses non-communicable diseases as a health and economic development priority.

“Chronic non-communicable diseases [CNCDs] remain a major cause for concern in the Region as their prevalence and corresponding mortality rates in the Caribbean are among the highest in the world, and the costs are not sustainable to families, business and government. For this reason, ‘NCDs – Through the Life Course’ has been chosen as the theme for the Conference this year.

“Within CARICOM member states, the major causes of mortality continue to be dominated by CNCDs: Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke and hypertension as a co-morbidity. These chronic diseases account for approximately 60% of all deaths in the Region.

“Further, they are a major cause and effect of poverty due to the rising health care costs due to NCDs, yet they are mostly preventable.

“One of the highlights of the Conference will be a discussion on the topic, “Achieving healthy weights among children and adolescents in the Caribbean – Moving from research to policy to action,” while another topic focuses on the use of legislation to create healthier environments and reduce obesity.

“A joint CARPHA/University of the West Indies [UWI] preparatory session on “Economic Dimensions of NCDs” will also be held with Caribbean Chief Medical Officers, CARICOM, the Pan American Health Organisation [PAHO] and the University of Washington.”

“In light of this theme I think this is a opportune time to remind the public that the STEPS survey is currently underway in Bermuda – the results of which will allow us to be compared to other countries in the Caribbean region and internationally in terms of NCDs,” said Acting Director of the Department of Health David Kendell.

“We decided to focus our recent Public Health Week on NCDs this year as NCDs are forecast to create an enormous strain on our health system in Bermuda.”

“In Bermuda, rates of obesity, diabetes and congestive heart failure are currently above the average for OECD countries. Bermuda has a rate of diabetes that is higher than all OECD countries,” the Health Ministry added.

“In fact 13 per cent of the adult population aged 20 to 79 has some form of diabetes. Women in Bermuda have the highest number of diabetes-related lower extremity amputations out of all the 30 countries in the OECD.

“Furthermore, 24 per cent of Bermudian adults are considered obese while 19 per cent of young Bermudians [aged 11 to 18] are considered overweight or obese.

“The 2011 Health Survey of Adults in Bermuda found that chronic diseases appeared to remain steady since 2006, with few changes in conditions like diabetes, high blood cholesterol, and coronary heart disease.

“However, hypertension [or ‘high blood pressure’] has risen significantly. It went from 25% in 2006 to 36% in 2011. Severe or ongoing high blood pressure can lead to stroke and other life-threatening conditions such as chronic kidney disease [requiring dialysis] and heart disease.

“STEPs to a Well Bermuda will provide important information on the prevalence of various health conditions and physical and biochemical characteristics of Bermuda’s population.

“It will also provide data on the relationship between the risk factors and selected conditions, and social determinants of health. 2656 households have been selected to take part in the survey using simple random sampling.”

For further information on the 59th CARPHA Health Research Conference, visit www.carpha.org

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