Stress on prevention at public lecture

At a public lecture on ‘How to prevent disability due to diabetes,’ head of M.V. Hospital for Diabetes, Royapuram, Vijay Viswanathan said that 20% of people with diabetes in India had some form of disability. The three main causes for disability, Dr. Viswanathan said, were stroke, blindness due to diabetic retinopathy and amputation.

With 70 million diabetics in the country, prevention was essential, said Dr. Viswanathan.

Explaining that diabetes was a vascular disease, he said that blood vessels of the brain, heart, kidney and feet could be affected.

Dr. Viswanathan spoke about the importance of diet, reducing stress and controlling blood pressure.