Alarming increase in number of diabetics

RIYADH – As many as 468,000 people in Saudi Arabia suffer from uncontrolled diabetes while 911,000 patients take medicines regularly to control the dangerous disease, says Dr. Mamdouh Al-Thaqeel, assistant director of health in Riyadh province. “A study conducted by the Health Ministry in association with Washington University last year, diabetes was spreading at the rate of 13.4 percent – 14.8 percent in men and 11.7 percent in women,” he said while speaking to Al-Watan Arabic daily. Spelling out the rate of patient growth age wise, he said it reached 7.8 percent in the age group of 25-34 and 50.4 percent in the age group of 65 and above. The study revealed that 1.1 million men in the Kingdom have been hit by the disease and 546,000 of them take medicines to treat the condition and 272,000 of them are unable to control the disease. “The study also pointed out that among 775,000 affected women in the Kingdom only 356,000 take medicines while 196,000 of them are in uncontrolled status,” Al-Thaqeel said. He said 17 percent of men (1.29 million) and 15.5 percent of women or 1.1 million are in pre-diabetes stage as a result of the lifestyle they follow. “We intend to launch a month-long campaign to enhance awareness of 1 million people including expatriates,” he added. Another report carried by Al-Watan said diabetes cases in the Kingdom increased during 2014-15, registering 157,578 in Qassim, 99,352 in Makkah, 82,872 in Madinah, 78,959 in Baha, 74,159 in the Eastern Province, 59,410 in Asir, 56,107 in Jazan, 44,692 in Al-Ahsa, 40,876 in Hail, 34,039 in Tabuk, 27,752 in Najran, 15,107 in Al-Jouf and 11,053 in Northern Border Province. Meanwhile, Dr. Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Amr, a consultant physician, told the daily that 90 percent of diabetes patients are likely to suffer from retinopathy, which weakens eye sight and can eventually lead to blindness. “It’s an ocular manifestation of diabetes, a systemic disease that affects about 90 percent of patients who had diabetes for 20 years or more,” he told the Arabic daily while attending a scientific conference in Dubai recently. “There is a 40 percent more chance for diabetic patients to lose their eye sight compared to others who do not have the condition,” Al-Amr said. Retinopathy can be treated by laser photocoagulation, eye injections and eye surgery. As diabetes progresses, chronic high blood sugar levels cause changes that damage the tiny blood vessels in the retina, which makes them leak fluid or hemorrhage (bleed). Eventually, this leads to vision problems that cannot be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses.