Deaths Attributed to Diabetes Climb 70%

Although largely preventable, diabetes-related deaths in Ventura County increased by an alarming 70% over the last three years, according to new county health statistics.

The number jumped from 73 cases in 1993 to 112 cases in 1994, according to the annual county Health Status Report that will be presented to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.

That number increased to 125 last year, said Dr. Elizabeth Trebow of the county’s public health department.

More comprehensive reporting methods and the county’s increasing Latino population--which makes up about a quarter of the county’s population--were cited as the main reasons for the rise in diabetes-related deaths.

Nationwide, Latinos are twice as likely to have diabetes as white residents, according to the American Diabetes Assn. Inadequate medical care, high-fat diets, language barriers and, possibly, genetic makeup, contribute to the high rate among Latinos, health officials said.

Dr. Martha Gonzalez, director of the diabetes clinic at the Ventura County Medical Center, said many diabetics are unaware that they even have the disease until complications set in. Left untreated, diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney disease, loss of limbs and possibly death.

But education is important because in many instances, Gonzalez said, diabetes can be prevented.

“If you maintain a proper weight and exercise regularly, you can prevent the onset of the disease,” she said. “If we increase awareness about the disease, hopefully we can get people into treatment.”

Diabetes strikes when the body fails to convert the sugar in food into energy. The sugar collects in the blood and urine, stalling body functions. Symptoms include increased appetite, excessive thirst, fatigue, weight loss and frequent urination.

“It’s a disease we can’t cure, but one we can control,” Gonzalez said.

The county now operates a diabetes clinic at the medical center in Ventura every Friday. But Gonzalez and a group of volunteers recently began offering free diabetes screenings to low-income people in Oxnard’s La Colonia neighborhood. The next free screening will be held Dec. 14.