Datafolha Research Suggests Brazilians Know Very Little about Diabetes

07/24/2018 - 11h23

A Datafolha survey corroborated a reality that doctors see on a daily basis: Brazilians know very little about diabetes. When asked about their knowledge of the disease, off the top of their heads, only 10% answered that it could lead to death, 7% said it could cause blindness and another 7% said that there is no cure for the disease.

The categories related to the disease that most interviewers brought up were the health impacts that it can lead to (28% of people), followed by symptoms of the disease (24%). Next came courses of treatment (19%), followed by dietary restrictions (18%). Merely 15% of those interviewed spontaneously stated that diabetes leads to increased blood sugar, while 16% said that those with diabetes cannot ingest sugar. Only 2% mentioned the possibility of cardiovascular diseases: the leading cause of death for people with diabetes.

The survey took place throughout the entire country between May 12 and May 19 of 2018, surveying people aged 16 and up in 153 different municipalities. The margin of error for the survey is plus/minus 2 percentage points.

The research was commissioned by a coalition that is composed of pharmacists, NGOs and medical organizations that launched the Movement for Survival in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday (the 24th).

Translated by THOMAS MATHEWSON

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