Abu Dhabi: Experts converged in Abu Dhabi for the Diabetes for Primary Care conference, hosted by HealthPlus Diabetes and Endocrinology Centre, a Mubadala Health partner, this weekend.
The one-day conference, held under the theme ‘At the Heart of Diabetes’, was launched by Alexander Schonfelder, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the UAE and Dr Mohammed Al Khatib, Conference Chairman, and Medical Director Consultant, Internal Medicine, Endocrinology and Diabetology, HealthPlus Diabetes and Endocrinology Centre.
Schonfelder said: “The UAE has shown tremendous progress in the healthcare sector over the last decade. As the cooperation between Germany and the UAE continues to grow, it is proof of the strong relationship our two countries hold.”
Emphasising the need to tackle the rise of the chronic disease, the conference attendees engaged in a series of sessions. These sessions were designed to guide the medical community to drive awareness and education to tackle some of the contributing factors accelerating the prevalence of diabetes across the UAE and the wider region.
Dr Al Khatib said: “As we’re seeing an upward global trend in the prevalence of diabetes, and with the region prone to these lifestyle diseases, the conference could not have come at a more critical time. The conference aimed to shed light on the latest guidelines, research and technologies in the field of diabetes.”
He added: “It also served as a platform to help the healthcare community understand the impact the pandemic has had on people’s lifestyles and on their health; particularly as, we’ve seen a rise in younger diabetic patients diagnosed, something that we’ve not seen to this scale before. As we continue to tackle one of the most pressing issues in this field, it is essential for the medical community to urge people to focus on their health.”
What was covered?
The conference agenda covered issues from the field of diabetes including obesity and metabolics, remission, vision management, burden and risks associated with bariatrics and addressing dyslipidemia, one of the major cardiovascular side-effects of diabetes. The conference also discussed the role nutrition plays in managing diabetes in its early stages, the latest guidelines and technologies in managing the disease, as well as areas of research that can help discover the future outlook of this chronic disease.
Speaking on type 2 diabetes post bariatric – remission, burden and risks, Dr Hazem Al Momani, Head of Surgery and General Surgery Consultant at Danat Al Emarat Hospital, Abu Dhabi, UAE, said: “Diabetes and obesity is becoming a disease of the young. We know that with early onset obesity, the likelihood of developing diabetes increases at a younger age. This tells us that the health and sustainability of our society is dependent on us investing in the young.”
Professor Dominik Bergis, Medical Director, Diamedicum Wuerzburg, Germany said: “[The conference] is important to show what’s possible in the management and treatment of diabetes. This includes discussing the latest technologies and something we’ve always dreamed of in diabetology call a ‘closed loop’, which we’re now starting to implement into patient’s daily practices to help them improve their diabetes control and management.”
