Características de la diabetes mellitus tipo 2 en pacientes de la etnia shuar atendidos en el Hospital General de Macas, 2012

Abstract

Introduction: since the discovery of diabetes me - llitus and its complications have been a tragedy for humanity and Ecuador. In indigenous peoples, also confirmed a dramatic increase in diabetes, have been forced off their land and adopt a se - dentary lifestyle. In the Macas General Hospital is common to find the Shuar diabetics, who usually come when they have any complications. This vulnerable group is undergoing a transition period towards urbanization and requires special care in their treatment and monitoring. Objective: Identify the characteristics of type 2 diabetes mellitus in patients treated at the Shuar Macas General Hospital in 2012, and their kno - wledge of and attitudes toward their illness. Materials and methods: It is a descriptive study case series conducted in Shuar diabetics attending the Macas General Hospital. The data were obtained from the monthly report of disease, and medical records, which are in the electronics HOS - VITAL. To have evidence of their knowledge and attitudes, surveys and interviews were used to obtain variables, and information was processed in Excel 2010. Results: We found 227 diabetics treated from Ja - nuary to June this year in the area of consultation and hospitalization, which corresponds to the Shuar patients’ sample that formed 41, ie 18.06%. The characteristics of the sample indicated a higher prevalence of women 51 to 60 years, who reside mostly in the cantonal head. Of the 41 Shuar diabetics, the 56.10% were in hospital, ad - mitted for decompensated diabetes mellitus, and of these, 48.39% were insulin dependants. Among the chronic complications, 50% had diabetic foot. In surveys and interviews, 22% had diabetes of 1-5 years, 64% are aware of their disease, but 86% are unaware of the complications. With regard to treatment there is no medical checks in regularly monitoring, and mentioned other empirical treatments such as verbena water. Conclusions: In the Macas General Hospital, al - though we identified a small group of diabetics Shuar, found that most go in bad condition pre - senting uncontrolled hyperglycemia, or diabetic foot, and do not seek regular medical checks for outpatient so that the majority was identified in ward. This is based on lack of knowledge and poor attitudes to their disease, and this adds the location and preservation of cultural beliefs that somehow don’t allow conducting a proper medical intervention.