AN alarming diabetes epidemic spreading in Saudi Arabia and the region has made lifestyle changes and early screening of populations vital. Six countries in the region – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt and Oman - are among the world's top 10 in diabetes prevalence, according to data obtained from a recent media seminar in Dubai on the disease. Diabetes is now considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an “epidemic”, and represents a huge burden on societies worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, the diabetic population has grown to 3.6 million (out of a total of 23 million Saudis) and is expected to further increase, said Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Mahghamsi, head of the Medicine Department at King Khalid Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, during a round table discussion at the Dubai seminar. Other key regional and international speakers at the seminar included Dr. Abdulrazzaq Ali Al-Madani, head of the Emirates Diabetes Society; Prof. Sami T. Azar, professor of Endocrinology at the American University of Beirut-Medical Center; and Dr. George Dailey from the American Diabetes Association who also heads the Division of Diabetes and Endocrinology at Scripps Clinic in California. The seminar was a prelude to “Developing Actions for Better Outcomes in Diabetes Care – Devoted 2”, a forthcoming major professional symposium on diabetes treatment, by Sanofi-Aventis. Speakers at the Dubai seminar said people in the Middle East are at high risk for diabetes, making the development and implementation of public health awareness campaigns a vital need across the region. They said lifestyle changes and early screening must be encouraged so as to help prevent the disease and its complications, and also administer proper treatment when necessary. The seminar provided insight into developments in the field, including evolutions in treatment strategies advocating the early use of insulin as well as overviews on how the disease influences the daily lives of patients. As with many other countries with high diabetes prevalence, the onset of type 2 diabetes in the region, which generally develops in adulthood, tends to occur at a relatively young age. During the roundtable discussion, Dr. Al-Mahghamsi said the Saudi government was doing its best to ward off the diabetes epidemic by organizing public awareness campaigns among Saudis in every part of the country. The campaigns are part of the Devoted Initiative that was launched in the Middle East in 2007. Under the initiative, each participating country has drawn up a local call to action to improve the management of diabetes. Among the objectives of the intitiative are: • Increase public awareness on diabetes and early use of insulin • Guarantee availability, accessibility and affordability of treatments via an evidence based review of treatments and their cost-effectiveness • Diabetes self management education • Education of primary care physicians • Working with decision makers to improve quality fo care and life of patients with diabetes The initiative has mobilized key medical opinion leaders and stakeholders with the aim of improving the management of diabetes in the region. Every year, the meeting groups together more than 70 specialists from Egypt, the Gulf, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Participants hail from various disease management related fields, including endocrinologists, diabetologists, nurses and nutritionists, as well as local decision makers such as access players, governments and private sector representatives, in addition to pharmaceutical and therapeutic committees, nurses and patient association representatives. “Devoted is a unique opportunity to pool together and learn from different experiences and opinions from countries of the Middle East, as well as identifying concrete actions for implementation on a country by country basis, thus contributing to the improvement of diabetes care in the region,” said Dr. Hisham Mahmoud, medical director, Sanofi
