JEDDAH, 9 April 2008 — According to a research paper released recently by the American Diabetes Association, the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East has one of the highest prevalence of diabetes of any region in the world, at 9.4 percent in 2007.
The paper stated that this vast region extends from Pakistan in the East to Morocco in the West, and the population is a mosaic of several ethnic groups. The age distribution pattern of the population is pyramidal with about half of the population below the age of 20 years.
Over the past three decades, major social and economic changes have occurred in the majority of these nations. These include progressive urbanization, decreasing infant mortality and increasing life expectancy. Rapid economic development, especially among the more wealthy oil-producing countries, has been associated with tremendous changes in lifestyle toward the Westernized pattern reflected by changes in nutrition, less physical activity, tendency to increased obesity and smoking.
The explosion of diabetes in this region is mainly due to Type 2 diabetes, which starts at adulthood. The aging of populations, together with socio-economic changes and Westernization, has resulted in a dramatic increase in diabetes prevalence. Diabetes is caused by a combination of genetic predispositions, poor diet and lack of exercise.
Six of the countries of the region — United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Oman — have had studies done that show their current diabetes prevalence to be among the world’s 10 highest.
As with many other countries with high diabetes prevalence, the onset of Type 2 diabetes tends to occur at a relatively young age. According to IDF (International Diabetes Federation), the number of people aged 20 to 79 years with diabetes in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East 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 prevalence of adult diabetes is projected to rise markedly in both developed and developing countries. Diabetes is now considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an “epidemic”, and represents a high burden for all societies worldwide.
