The woman has “a role of presence and assistance” in the management of the disease in people with diabetes

As there is a slight difference between the female and male population in terms of the number of people with diabetes, which disappears as age advances, internist Mónica Reis recognizes that women, whether diabetic or not, “take on many sometimes the role of caregivers for their spouses, their children, or their parents”.

“Women always end up having a role of presence and assistance in managing their own disease in people with diabetes. This is what we observe in the consultation, in which the person accompanying the patient, whether male or female, is almost always a female figure. A daughter, a mother, a daughter-in-law…”, says Mónica Reis, coordinator of the Integrated Diabetes Unit at the Tagus Estuary Local Health Unit.

This comment from the doctor at Vila Franca de Xira Hospital comes about the event that the Diabetes Studies Center Mellitus (NEDM) of the Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine will promote next Saturday, May 4th, in Fátima. Under the theme “Diabetes and Women”, this is the first meeting held by this SPMI Center after Mónica Reis took on the role of coordinator, at the end of October.

Monica Reis

Admitting that it is “impossible to talk about this disease in women without addressing gestational diabetes, we intend to go further, reflecting on the moment of transition to adulthood but also on a later period of their life, with the onset of menopause”, says our interviewee.

“There are particularities inherent to this stage of life in diabetic women, and it must be recognized that there will be aspects that have not been sufficiently explored in meetings in the area of ​​diabetes. There are implications for the management of the disease that are important to be discussed”, highlights Mónica Reis.

It is no surprise, then, that the internists most focused on the area of ​​diabetes are joined at this meeting by gynecologists such as Madalena Tavares and Cláudio Rebelo, the latter also present as president of the Menopause Section of the Portuguese Society of Gynecology.

“We want to promote a multidisciplinary approach, with the view of Internal Medicine as a manager of diabetes, so to speak, and, on the other hand, the involvement of Gynecology/Obstetrics as a manager of women”, specifies the coordinator of the Diabetes Studies Center Mellitus.

At the same time, says Mónica Reis, this 10th NEDM Thematic Meeting has the participation of members of the SPMI Obstetric Medicine Center, “in line with our desire to encourage the creation of partnerships between the various working groups of our Society ”.

Closing the program for next weekend’s meeting, doctor Ana Jorge, current provider of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, will give a conference entitled “Women’s Health”, in a session that will be chaired by Lèlita Santos, president of the Society Portuguese of Internal Medicine.