80% of blood donors suffer from BP, diabetes: Doc

Amravati: The blood donation camp organised by The Hans India on Sunday brought to fore an interesting aspect on which the state government needs to concentrate on.

The percentage of diabetes and hyper tension and other complications faced by people were mostly from youth in urban areas. In Vijayawada city, about 80 per cent of donors who came forward for blood donation were found to be suffering from high blood pressure or high BP and diabetes, according to Dr S Madan Mohan, who headed the camp in Vijayawada.

He pointed out that stress related problems like hyper tension and diabetes are gradually increasing in the state and suggested for change in life style. Food habits will also play important role in keeping people fit and healthy.  

Prevalence of hypertension among urban men in Andhra Pradesh is the second-highest in the country after Kerala. According to a study by National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), AP stands second in a list of 16 states. Over 36.2 per cent of urban men in the state suffer from hypertension, while the national average stands at 31.1 per cent.

Prevalence of hypertension in urban women of Andhra Pradesh is also higher than the national average. AP stands third in the country in case of women with hypertension (28.2 per cent) after Kerala (31.4 per cent) and Karnataka (28.6 per cent). The national average for urban women is 26.1 per cent.  Obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus and cancers too have been increasing among urban population of the country.

The percentage of prevalence of obesity among urban men in AP is 35.2 per cent against the national average of 33.8 per cent. For urban women, the percentage prevalence stands at 43 against the national average of 44. In Guntur, the doctors found that over 50 per cent were unfit to donate blood. Interestingly most of them who came forward do donate blood are in the age group of 18 to 60.

According to a study conducted by NIN, urban men are more to suffer from hypertension and is second highest in the country after Kerala. In fact, AP Stands second in a list of 16 states. In case of women, AP is said to be at third position in the country in terms of hypertension with 28.2 per cent followed by Kerala with 31 per cent, Karnataka 28.6 per cent. The national average is said to be 26.1 per cent for urban women.

The NIN report also says that the percentage of obesity among urban men in AP is 35.2 per cent as against the national average of 33.8 per cent. Among women it is 43 per cent as against the national average of 44 per cent.