JEDDAH, 4 March 2007 — Medical practitioners are waging a concerted campaign against diabetes as recent information from the WHO and the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) reveal that the number of people with diabetes in the Middle East has risen to a record high. WHO and IDF conducted studies in six Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, and found that diabetes is rampant in the region.
In a Sanofi-Aventi-organized media seminar entitled “One Day Living with Diabetes,” medical experts said, “The daily life of people with diabetes ... can be greatly improved if effective treatment strategies are used, and ongoing support provided.”
The initiative has now mobilized key professionals to improve care and management of diabetes in the region. A group of 70 participants and local decision makers from various countries gathered to pool their experiences and opinions about the Middle East and identify concrete actions to be implemented on a country to country basis.
The seminar was aimed at providing an insight into the development and understanding of diabetes and to present new ways to treat the disease. The effect of the disease in the daily life of patients was also addressed at the meeting.
According to the IDF, the number of people aged 20 to 79 years with diabetes in the region will increase from 24.5 million in 2007 to 44.5 million in 2025.
Moreover, the number of people with impaired glucose tolerance (pre-diabetes) will increase from 22.4 million to 38.6 million during the same period.
The seminar also emphasized that the key goal of diabetes treatment is to prevent complications because, over time, diabetes can damage the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves, although the person may not know damage is being done. It is important to diagnose and treat diabetes early, because it can cause damage even before it makes someone feel ill, medical experts said.
The number of diabetic patients in the world is currently between 194 million and 246 million, and should rise to between 333 and 380 million individuals by 2025.
As with many other countries with high diabetic prevalence, the onset of Type 2 diabetes tends to occur at a relatively young age, the experts pointed out, adding that many Type 2 diabetes patients are not diagnosed or do not have their blood glucose under control, leaving them at an increased risk of developing diabetes-related complications.
