Health official says Diabetes should be tackled before end stage

Dubai: Almost three in four UAE adults could have or are about to develop diabetes, as 50 per cent of the population may be undiagnosed, on top of the current 21.4 per cent prevalence rate, says a world health body official.

If true, the UAE would be the country with the highest rate of diabetes in the world instead of the present ranking of No.2 after the South Pacific island of Nauru, according to the International Diabetes Federation figures.

Prevalence rates are based on the number of diagnosed cases.

Dr Osama Al Khateeb, regional adviser of non-communicable diseases at the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office for the World Health Organisation (WHO), said the estimate included undiagnosed and undetected diabetes cases.

He spoke to Gulf News after presenting a talk at the launch of the "Your Health Matters" campaign by pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis, attended by representatives from the Emirates Cardiac Society and Dubai Department of Health and Medical Services.

"The real prevalence rate could be 60 to 70 per cent, because the 50 per cent would be undiagnosed. In the United States, 40 per cent of the population are undiagnosed. In the GCC, it's 50 per cent," he said, adding that the estimate was based on studies conducted in Nizwa, Oman on about 5,000 subjects in 2003.

He said WHO had modified the rate to 50 per cent, based on the study's findings which found that 60 per cent of the sample had previously undiagnosed diabetes, 70 per cent hypertension and 90 per cent high cholesterol levels, against lifestyle factors in the UAE.

Risks

Gulf countries are among the top countries with diabetes, with the UAE at No. 2 and Oman at No. 6.

Dr Al Khateeb called on governments to invest more in preventive healthcare instead of just curative medicine, which addresses the diseases at the end stage after patients have developed life-threatening complications.

Diabetes is a known health risk for cardiovascular diseases, and sufferers tend to die of heart attacks and strokes.

Type II diabetes is a preventable form of the disease, characterised by insulin-resistance or the body's inability to produce insulin. It is the most common form of diabetes in the UAE.

Another risk factor for diabetes is obesity, which is also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. More than 65 per cent of the UAE population, of whom 85.3 per cent are women, are overweight around their waist, according to the International Day for the Evaluation of Abdominal Obesity (IDEA) 2006 study.

About 37 per cent are abdominally obese with a waist circumference of more than 102cm for men and 88cm for women.

Top five countries in 2007

1. Nauru

2. United Arab Emirates

3. Saudi Arabia

4. Bahrain

5. Kuwait

Symptoms

According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes often goes undiagnosed because symptoms can be mistaken for other conditions or appear to be harmless. Common symptoms include:

• Frequent urination 
• Excessive thirst
• Extreme hunger
• Unusual weight loss
• Increased fatigue
• Irritability
• Blurred vision

However, people should not wait for a symptom to develop and undergo regular blood glucose screening instead. But prevention remains the best cure, through adopting a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet and physical exercise.

Courtsey Gulf News April 21 - 2007