Free testing in Dubai on World Diabetes Day

World Diabetes Day is an occasion to raise awareness about diabetes and its associated risk factors.

World Diabetes Day was introduced by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1991, in response to the concern over the escalating incidence of diabetes around the world. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is the most prevalent chronic disease in the UAE. Recent statistics released by the Ministry of Health confirm that 25% of UAE nationals suffer from it, while the IDF ranks the prevalence of diabetes in the UAE at a staggering 30.7%, which is the second highest rate worldwide.

According to the recent McKinsey Report, the UAE spends on average $1,940m annually on healthcare. With the region's population expected to grow to 56.3m by 2025, diabetes and its related conditions are set to cause an increasing financial burden on the healthcare system.

"Healthcare costs in the UAE are rising due to a number of factors, one being the high incidence of diabetes and it's related factors, the GCC expenditure on healthcare is set to increase fivefold from today's 11.9bn to 57.3bn by 2025," said Dr. Ottmar Schmidt, Director of PR and Marketing, WWHS. "It is estimated that cardiology will create by far the biggest burden on the health system. There needs to be more preventative measures in place to reverse this trend. It is our social responsibility to help stop the spread of diabetes and its related conditions and I urge people to attend the free screenings offered to them on World Diabetes Day," Dr. Schmidt continued.

According to the WHO diabetes is responsible for 75% of deaths among nationals and 31% among non nationals in the UAE, while 90% of amputees in the UAE are diabetic. As rates of the disease increase in the UAE it is important that individuals are aware of the symptoms and get tested. Patients with higher blood glucose levels than normal are said to have pre-diabetes and are at risk of developing the disease within 5 to 10 years. Early identification of the risk factors is essential as it may help in preventing the onset of the disease.

"One of the problems we often encounter is that a large proportion of the population have Diabetes but are unaware and only present themselves when they suffer from its complications," comments Dr. Iyad Ksseiry, Specialist Endocrinologist, Welcare Hospital. "While it cannot be cured, diabetes can be carefully controlled and I hope that people will come forward to get tested in order to prevent future, more serious complications," he added.

Welcare Hospital has a Specialist Diabetes Clinic to help support and educate those diagnosed with the condition. On World Diabetes Day a diabetic nurse educator, as well as a dietician and doctor will be on hand to give free tests and counselling. They will conduct a glucose tolerance test, which measures blood sugar levels and they will also analyse a patient's basic metabolic factor. This will help identify what level of risk patients are at to develop diabetes and they will advise what can be done to help prevent the onset of the disease.

All Welcare units will offer free testing from 8 am to 5pm on Wednesday, November 14th and patients will receive immediate feedback on their results. No appointment is necessary.