Stress is also a cause of lifestyle diseases

 IT is sad to read about the CEO of Angau Memorial Hospital ad­mitting that 50% of his staff suffers from high blood pressure.

But what he did not reveal was the percentage suffering from diabetes, obesity and othe­r lifestyle diseases.

If all these were consi­dered, the percentage would be higher.

If a national survey of all our health workers was conducted across all ma­jor hospitals, the results could be shocking.

Considering the above situation at Angau, I would say more than 50% of our health workers nationwide are currently suffering from one or more of the lifestyle diseases.

When health workers suffer from hypertension (or other lifestyle illnesses) it is not because of affluence or massive income earned leading citizens to live an unhealthy lifestyle although I do agree that unhealthy lifestyle is still a predisposing factor.

The reason is obvious.

The conditions they are forced to work in, lack of manpower, lack of proper equipment and facilities, poor incentives and remuneration have led to a decreased living standard.

The normal human body being subjected to such stress will eventually deteriorate and that is when lifestyle illnesses kick in.

This is a serious issue and needs the immediate attention of the health minister and his department.

Semper Naturalis

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