Diabetes in the United Arab Emirates
Diabetes is a disease where the blood glucose levels are too high, with glucose being a blood sugar that comes from the foods people eat, such as candy and soda. Insulin is a hormone that enables the glucose to get into the body cells to give them vitality. With type 1 diabetes, your body unable to make insulin while with type 2 diabetes, the more common type, especially in the United Arab Emirates, the body does not make or use insulin well. Without enough insulin in the body, the glucose remains in your blood but likewise, people can have pre-diabetes. This a condition implying that your blood glucose is higher than normal, yet it is not sufficiently high enough to be called diabetes. Having pre-diabetes puts you at a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes. In a bid to assess this concern, this research paper discusses the justification of the relevance of the issue of diabetes in the United Arab Emirates, the analysis of this issue and the solutions that are being undertaken to restrain the disease both globally and in the United Arab Emirates.
In regard to the global dimension of the problem, there have been a number of reports that have been published showing that the number of humans with the problem of diabetes has nearly quadrupled since 1980 on a global scale (WHO). The consistent increase of the disease worldwide is registered in the low and middle income earning countries. Doctors say that for all the types of diabetes, all of them can lead to damage of the inner body parts which leaves a risk to the person if young causing a premature death. 1.5 million people were reported to have lost their lives to diabetes in 2012 on a global scale. The rate at which people acquire diabetes global has risen from 4.7% in the 1980’s to 8.5 by 2014 (WHO). The rates of deaths caused by diabetes have continuously increased; as of late the world health organization reported that 1.6 million people died directly from diabetes.
Current statistical reports in the Middle East and the Northern African region indicate that the United Arab Emirates is one of the regions with an increasing prevalence of diabetic patients. Globally, statistics indicate that diabetic patients have quadripled since the 1980s, creating a major concern to global health. Increased cases have been recorded in developing nations which have major challenges in dietary and poor lifestyles. Howver, the situation is still prevalent in developed nations, specifically, the United Arab Emirates. In fact, according to the general statistics that were released by the organization, it was indicated that over 39 million people in the region suffer from the disease with an approximation of 1.5 million people from the United Arab Emirates (Chaudhary par 1). Doctors assert that all types of diabetes can lead to damaging of inner body parts which leaves the person to vulnerable to other diseases, leading to premature deaths.
There has been concerns that diabetes can be caused by some risk factors. The development of type one diabetes has been diagonalized to be increased by variants such as HLA-DQB 1, HLA, DQA 1, and HLA-DRB 1 genes. These are genes which have the fundamental role of creating proteins which are essential in developing the immune system. Sadly, the 2017 reports that were released by the president-elect for diabetes in the region, Mr. Nam Han Cho, pointed out that over 450,000 people of the 1.5 million were undiagnosed, which shows the unprecedented effects of the disease to the nation. However, there are other factors which have been identified as risk factors for development of diabetes.The rate at which people acquire diabetes global has risen from 4.7% in the 1980’s to 8.5 by 2014 (WHO). The rates of deaths caused by diabetes have continuously increased; as of late the world health organization reported that 1.6 million people died directly from diabetes.
The complications caused by diabetes are dire and they extend from affecting the patients, directly and indirectly, affecting the community. It is a disease which makes the victim be prone to many more disease attacks, affecting the body in both long term and short term. It can cause cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks, angina, narrowing and stroke of arteries. There is also a risk of the disease damaging the filter system of the body causing kidney failure, or an irreversible kidney failure which requires transplant or dialysis. It has the potential of causing eye damage by damaging the blood vessels of the retina, which can lead to blindness. It has been diagnosed that many people suffering from diabetes have hearing problems and suffer from foot damage. This is after the nerves in the feet or legs to have poor blood flow, a situation which can lead to increased foot complications. Cuts and blisters take time to heal, and aspect which might require leg or foot amputations.
With the increasing prevalence of diabetes in the region coupled with the already high population affected by the disease, this ought to signal a significant concern in the region’s population. In fact, Mr. Nam Han Cho in his interview with Emirates Diabetes and Endocrinology Congress cautioned residents of the region to be aware of the tsunami of the disease that is increasingly hitting the region (Chaudhary part 2). Similarly, with the nations reporting for over 450,000 people undiagnosed with the disease, this indicated the ignorance into which the region’s population on the adverse effects of the disease, and therefore requiring intense sensitization to increase people's awareness. These statistical figures of undiagnosed diabetes victims mark a worrying trend where there is a need for stakeholders to initiate intervention measures to mitigate the problem.
While the disease is said to have been killing many of its victims in the region, the disclosure of the case reports is set to raise concerns of authorities and stakeholders to intervene in mitigating the disease. Similarly, research about diabetes in the region has helped in the formulation of fitting strategies to curb the disease. The most significant conclusion is that obesity was underlined as the leading cause of diabetes in the region. Based on these statistical revelations, there has been increasing sensitization strategies that are directed to educate people on healthy eating diets. Foreign bodies and health partners have been invited to contribute in helping the region in its efforts to reduce the upsurge of diabetes in its population. Also, the awareness campaigns have been critical in sensitizing the nation’s citizens on the possible preventive measures that can be applied to control the disease at the society level.
According to the 2017 Statistics from the international diabetes federation of the United Arab Emirates, it indicates that 17.3% of the population aged between of 20-79 are affected by type 2 diabetes (Webster par 2). This is 1.5 million people of the population suffering from the disease places the region in the 15th position of the most diabetic raveled nations on the global scale. In fact, recent studies indicate that diabetes is a regional infliction in the states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Bahrain that have continually featured among the top twenty prevalent nations with the disease. Researchers have documented that; there is an increased risk in the prevalence of the disease in the region than in the other MENA regions, where stakeholders predict that this number could clock 2.2 million by 2040. Therefore, this ought to indicate the need for urgent intervention from the government and health ministry to contain the adversities which the epidemic could cause in the region.
Diabetes victims in the region have ballooned over the past decades, where type 2 diabetes is reported to be the most prevalent in the United Arab Emirates. Unfortunately, this medical situation has caused huge social costs in terms of mortality and morbidity, the decline in production and a steep burden to the region's healthcare plans. According to the 2010 statistical surveys, the region had accumulated approximately 32% of its population in the ages of 20-79 with either pre-diabetes or diabetes at a cost of around $8.52 billion (United health group 2). Statistically, this implies that one in every three adults in the United Arab Emirates will be infected with diabetes in their lifetime. Further investigations discovered that most of the pre-diabetes cases and over a 35% of the patients in the region and they remain undiagnosed further informs complicating mitigation of this largely preventable disease.
Health surveys in the United Arab Emirates as reported by the organization assessed that an estimation of 66% women and 73% of the adults in the United Arab Emirates are obese which justifies the increased prevalence’s of the disease in the region. It was predicted that the region will incur approximately $1.04 billion by of 2020. Unfortunately, this will be a substantial difference compared to $654 billion that was reported to have been incurred in 2010 (United health group 2). However, scientific research has proven that the disease can be controlled by having people take in healthy lifestyles, healthy diets, and exercise. The lifestyle interventions measures have been billed as one of the most probable preventions of obesity conditions in society.
A historical track of the disease prevalence rate in the region points out that there has seen an increment from 6% in 1980 to 14% in 2014 (Weber par 12). Accordingly, this rise at the time was attributed to the increasing numbers of overweight population in the region that propelled the acquisition of diabetes type 2. At the global scale, diabetes is reported to have claimed approximately 1.5 million people, dominantly largest of these were reported to have been in the Middle East and in the Pacific island nations. Therefore, there is a need for control measures to mitigate the prevalence of obesity in the region, as a way of preventing a rising number of diabetic people.
While continued surveys have continuously represented that type 2 diabetes as the most common type of diabetes in the region. unhealthy dietary habits have made the disease due to poor adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Despite it being of the healthiest in the world, it has become a cause of increased mortality rate by diabetes. In relation to this, researchers concluded that insulin resistance has been the leading cause of diabetes 2 alleviation in the United Arab Emirates region asserting that South Asians and peninsula Arabs have the inclination to this condition (United health group 7). As a result, insulin resistance causes the attempts medical practices to fail in alleviating the devastating symptoms of the disease.
With the mortality of people in the UAE and on the globe on the rise due to diabetes, the World Health Organization is currently considering various measures to control the disease. Major trials in China, United States, Finland, and Sweden, are citing strategies which include lifestyle behaviors such as physical activity and healthy eating habits limit the risks of obesity, has been termed as the diabetes intervention program. The UAE has employed the use of the measure that has been found sufficient in controlling type 2 diabetes. The WHO is also encouraging screening of pre-diabetes to individuals for allowing for early detections, and timely medication of diabetes. Consequently, health professionals globally have continually encouraged people to desist from exposures of bovine proteins and using nicotinamide as these have been proven in causing diabetes type 1.
To prevent the root cause of diabetes type 2 globally, policy measures are presently being advanced for better food and agricultural policies. Accordingly, healthy diet plans are being undertaken to alter nation’s food production policies to align them with the intents of producing health foods that are free from more cholesterol amounts to enable better health choices in the environment (Hu, Satija and Manson 2319). The target has often been that, these foods able the possibilities of physical activities in humans by changing lifestyles for healthy living. Therefore, the implementations of the measures include the reductions overweight population of the present on the global first level nations’ where obesity was previously described to be a major challenge. As part of the regions control strategies, the health ministry in 2016 in the UAE formulated a ministry program to examine all children in the region’s major government educational institutions.
Essentially, this prompted investigations that were carried out by the World Health Organization (WHO), which documented that diabetes was accounting for over 3 percent of the death rates in the region. Similar reports released by the Abu Dhabi Health Authority in 2014 indicated that over 14 percent of the children in the Emirates school were obese thereby calling for classroom-based diabetes prevention measures (Webster par 4). This involved the arrangement of classroom sessions on the concerns of diabetes with the aid of technology that was to convey the message to the public. In due course, this has witnessed the launching of the health heroes’ mobile app intended to guide individuals on healthy living with the intentions of minimizing the risks of obesity.
To conclude, present global reports from the World Health 0rganization indicate that diabetes is one of the most life deploring diseases on the global scenes. As per the organization reports that were realized in 2016, over 422,000 people were reported to be suffering from the disease, which creates great worry to the health of the world's population. However, the United Arab Emirates has portrayed shocking results of diabetes presence in the region indicating the need to raise the flag for quick intervention. The regions’ 1.5 million statistics of the population affected with the disease has presently subjected the regions states and health ministries into embarking on having intervention measures to prevent the contraction and development of symptoms of the disease.
Work Cited
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases https://medlineplus.gov/diabetes.html
Chaudhary, Suchitra Bajpai Suchitra. "1.5 Million Likely to be suffering from diabetes in UAE." http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/health/1-5-million-likely-to-be-suffering-from-diabetes-in-uae-1.1979631, 2017.
Ismail, Manal. "A recent study shows that UAE residents are being diagnosed with diabetes up to 19 years earlier than the global average." https://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/more-than-one-third-of-diabetics-in-the-uae-are-undiagnosed-1.400889, 2012.
Swan, Melanie. "How the UAE is fighting the diabetes epidemic." https://fridaymagazine.ae/health/body/how-the-uae-is-fighting-the-diabetes-epidemic-1.2126856, 2017.
United Health Group - Diabetes in the United Arab Emirates: Crisis or Opportunity?" Health Benefits and Services - Home, 2010, www.unitedhealthgroup.com/~/media/UHG/PDF/2010/UNH_WorkingPaperDiabetesUAE.ashx?la=en.
Webster, Nick (2). "Government taking battle with diabetes into classrooms." https://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/government-taking-battle-with-diabetes-into-classrooms-1.136416, 2018.
Hu B. Frank, Satija Ambika, Manson E. JoAnn. "Curbing the Diabetes Pandemic: The Need for Global Policy Solutions." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5291074/, 2015. Vol, 313(23): Pp. 2319–2320. P
WHO. "10 Facts on Diabetes." World Health Organization, Apr. 2016, www.who.int/features/factfiles/diabetes/en/.
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