Doctors yesterday said the death rate among Taiwanese diabetes sufferers is higher than that of other countries, blaming what they call "a flawed medical culture" across the country, represented, they said, by the inappropriate attitudes of patients, medical professionals and public health officials.
Statistics from the Department of Health (DOH,
Pei Dee (
"Clinically we have found that many who died from heart disease were also diabetes sufferers. The chances of diabetes patients suffering from heart trouble can be two to four times greater than for those without diabetes," he said. Heart disease has been the fourth biggest killer of Taiwanese people for two decades and was the third biggest in 1998.
Pei estimated that Taiwan currently has 580,000 diabetes sufferers. He said the percentage would only get higher as the population of elderly grows. "Being aged over 50 places one at increased risk of diabetes," said Pei.
Pei said yesterday that the death rate among diabetes patients in Taiwan is higher than those of other countries. "For example, the rate is four times that of Great Britain," she said.
A doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity blamed the high death rate on the popularity of traditional Chinese medicine, and also said that doctors and public health officials do not provide sufficient health education to the public.
"Many patients have carelessly adopted alternative medications that worsen their condition," said Pei. "The abscess of a diabetes patient of mine was seriously inflamed because fibers of cotton balls that her traditional Chinese doctor used were all mixed with unidentified powder sprinkled in the wound and the pus," he added. Pei said that qualified doctors would have protected the wound with a bandage rather than cotton material.
Many people fall victim to charlatans and subject themselves to erroneous treatment offered by unqualified alternative physicians, the doctor said. "For instance, some of these people would say diabetes can be cured."
Diabetes is a chronic disease that has no cure and requires a lifelong commitment on the part of the patient to carefully manage the disease with the proper medication and lifestyle.
The doctor added that he believes alternative medicine is valid. "But most practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine must only pass exams without demonstrating the effectiveness of their medication and techniques with scientific evidence ?"
"Most troubling of all, many who practice Chinese medicine are not qualified [even by their own standards]," Pei said.
He said medical students majoring in Chinese medicine should stick with it instead of switching to western medicine after graduation trying to earn a higher income.
The doctor also said the government should screen alternative medications with the same standard applied to western medicines. The certification process includes animal and human testing as well as clinical trials.
Only by such means, the doctor added, could the safety of alternative medications be guaranteed.
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