Dubai: Complications from the killer disease diabetes are unfortunately being under-estimated in the country and many patients are under-treated, an American endocrinologist said yesterday.
Dr Osama Hamdy said 61 per cent of diabetic patients already have kidney disease and that there was a need to not only educate doctors but also patients in the management of the disease.
A kidney transplant costs about Dh360,000, he said, noting the high cost of the complication from the disease and the resulting poor quality of life.
A team of doctors from Harvard Medical School is in Dubai to train 200 local doctors in early detection and prevention of diabetes. Dr Hamdy said the course will hopefully help control both the progression of the disease, the high financial costs and the poor quality of life for the patients.
About 24 per cent of Emiratis have diabetes, which makes the UAE the second-most affected country in the world next to the tiny Pacific island of Nauru.
Heart disease is the number one cause of death in diabetes patients, said Dr Enrique Cabellero, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. "We must now move from concentrating on blood sugar control only to a more comprehensive approach which also addresses blood pressure, lipids and weight control."
He said there are a number of similarities between the Latino and Arab ethnic groups that puts them at a high risk of insulin resistance, which is a key factor in the development of Type II diabetes.
