Dubai: The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) will screen thousands of residents for diabetes using a new non-invasive method that does not require patients to fast beforehand.
The Authority hopes to complete the screening within a year at 13 public health centres.
The population sample results would be released at the International Diabetes Conference in Dubai next year.
The new screening machines also detect pre-diabetic patients who are at a high risk of contracting diabetes.
These people will be given tips on how to change their lifestyle and eating habits to lower their risk.
The UAE is campaigning to limit the number of people who develop Type 2 diabetes, which is mainly caused by an unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle.
The new state-of-the art machine gives colour-coded results within minutes.
"Those in the orange-red zone will be sent for further blood tests and their treatment will begin," said Sanofi-Aventis pharmaceutical firm marketing manager Samer Hakim. Sanofi-Aventis supplied the diabetes screening machines to the Dubai Health Authority.
DHA managing director Qadi Al Murooshid said the aim of the test was to empower people with knowledge about their condition.
"Early detection can effectively help manage the disease," Al Murooshid said.
The campaign is under the patronage of Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture.
He launched the campaign at Al Badea Health Centre on Al Wasl Road.
"People with pre-diabetic condition have a 61 per cent chance of not developing diabetes if they are caught early and if they change their lifestyle," said Dr Mohammad Farghaly, DHA acute and chronic unit head.
The UAE was serious about diabetes, he said.
Honour
Shaikh Majid Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Culture, yesterday attended the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs' (GDRFA) honouring ceremony.
The ceremony honoured former managers of the GDRFA, in addition to key partners from ministries, departments and institutions. Shaikh Majid congratulated them all.
