“Tenho diabetes: e agora?” (I Have Diabetes: What’s Next?). This is the title of the book edited by Emanuel Catumbela, researcher at CINTESIS – Center for Health Technology and Services Research, and published this year in Angola, with the collaboration of this R&D unit.
According to Angolan National Director of Public Health, Miguel dos Santos de Oliveira, who signs the preface, “this book is intended for patients with Diabetes Mellitus, their relatives, friends, health professionals and society in general.” Its main goal is to “demystify the disease as well as empower the patient as an integral part of the chain of success in Diabetes prevention and control.”
Presented in plain language, this book responds directly to some of the most common questions, such as “Am I the only one?”, “What should I do?”, “What should I eat?”, or “Should I stop working?”.
In the chapter dedicated to the epidemiology of diabetes, the researcher Emanuel Catumbela recalls that there are currently between 415 and 422 million people with diabetes in the world, corresponding to 8.5% of the population, with a significant increase in the coming years.
“It is estimated that, in Angola, diabetes affects 1,444,185 million people (5.6%) and half of them are unaware that they are carriers of this disease,” says the author, who warns of the need to fight fear and uncertainty arising from the diagnosis with the “acquisition of knowledge” and with “a positive attitude”.
In addition to providing answers to some of the most pressing questions on diabetics, this book leaves some tips for managing the disease on a daily basis, including a record of blood glucose and blood pressure levels.
Emanuel Castro Cassoco Catumbela is an integrated researcher of the CINTESIS research group 2D4H – Secondary Data for Research and Health Services, Thematic Line 3.
He graduated in Medicine from the Agostinho Neto University in Luanda, Angola, and completed his Doctorate in Clinical Research and Health Services by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP) in 2015.
He is a volunteer lecturer at the Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision at FMUP. As a researcher, his areas of interest include pediatric sleep apnea and HIV/AIDS.