Ellen
06-09-2008, 04:37 PM
Star (http://star.com.jo/viewnews/DetailNews.aspx?nid=7519)
Diabetes: Fifth cause of death in Jordan Change of lifestyle helps
By Star staff writer
Being the fifth main cause of death in Jordan, diabetes afflicts 16 percent of Jordanian citizens over the age of 18; another 23.8 percent of Jordanians over 18 years old are also on the brink of becoming diabetics according to a study made in 2007 by the Heart and Capillary Disease Prevention directorate (HCDP) of the Ministry of Health; while the possibility of diabetes prevalence in Jordan is 30.5 percent among both children and adults.
Dr Myassar Zindah, person in charge of disease studies at HCDP, explained to The Star that “non- communicable diseases such as diabetes have become big health problems in Jordan due to the high percentages of victims. This is attributed to behavioral change among citizens regarding eating unhealthy foods and sugars; very low consumption of vegetables and fruits; lack of exercise; and smoking. The percentages of such diseases are therefore expected to increase in Jordan during the next couple of years unless real preventive measures were taken in time”.
Diabetes is caused when the body does not produce or properly use insulin which is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life; exact causes of diabetes continue to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play a role.
Medical studies indicate that the number of diabetics worldwide is about 246 million which is 6 percent of the entire world’s population. Jordan comes in the second level with regards to diabetic prevalence in the Arab world. An expert on the US diabetic situation, Sa’ad Hassouneh, told The Star, “Acuteness of diabetes comes in its unclear syndromes; in the United States for example, there are 20.8 million diabetic children and adults, or 7 percent of the population; 6.2 million (or nearly one-third) of them are unaware that they have the disease due to the fact that diabetes is hard to detect; it affects both children and adults but is mostly more dangerous in overweight people.” He added, “It is also worth mentioning that many cases of diabetes are due to hereditary reasons.”
Dr Rashad Nasr, member of the Jordanian Association for Diabetic Care (JADC) and chief of the diabetic children club explained that diabetes is split into two types: Failure of the body to produce insulin; and resistance to insulin (a condition in which the body fails to properly use insulin), combined with relative insulin deficiency.
He said, “Symptoms of diabetes appear suddenly through anorexia, weight loss, frequent urination, thirst, lack of concentration and dizziness,” adding, “although it is a chronic disease, diabetic victims should follow a certain way of life in order to stay on the safe side, as otherwise serious ill effects of diabetes may cause dangerous results reaching up to blindness; we therefore recommend exercise, eating more vegetables, and to lose weight.”
Nasr explained the importance of child activity and general awareness among citizens of diabetes in which JADC seeks to play a role. He said, “We aim to draw attention to the dangers of the disease especially that children are still dying from diabetes due to different reasons, such as low financial abilities, lack of medical care, or lack of awareness.”
In light of the importance and wide prevalence of diabetes, an awareness campaign started last Saturday May 25 organized by JADC; the campaign was organized with the support of Arab Company for Pharmaceuticals, Al-Hikma group, and included a tour around the provinces of Maan and Aqaba as part of the plan targeting five provinces in order to find out the risks of the disease and the treatments available.
In a seminar held during the campaign, Dr Kamel Ajlouni, chief of the National Center for Diabetes, contended that doctors should balance their treatment methods by making the patients lose weight slowly without overstraining them, taking into consideration their financial abilities to afford the required medicines. He said, “If I were a decision maker I would have put the diabetes’ medicines along with drinking water.”
Ajlouni indicated that “the estimated cost for the treatment of diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and fats amount to about JD645 million annually.”
He also explained the possibilities of preventing diabetes, with its two kinds, saying, “Currently the first kind of diabetes is still not under control, while the second kind can be handled before appearing.”
For his part, Chairman of the Scientific Committee in JADC, Dr Nadeem Jarrah, said that scientific studies did not demonstrate a certain treatment for diabetes, as the matter depends on the nature of each patient’s body, which determines the sort of treatment. He said, “There are three different treatments the doctor may resort to, through three drugs in different periods of time depending on the case.”
Muhammad Zaheri, chief of JADC, called for a wide cooperation and planning to organize programs for confronting diabetes. “Its prevalence has become pandemic-like; the percentage of diabetics in the world is one of the highest percentages if not the highest.” ¦Diabetes: Fifth cause of death in Jordan Change of lifestyle helps
Diabetes: Fifth cause of death in Jordan Change of lifestyle helps
By Star staff writer
Being the fifth main cause of death in Jordan, diabetes afflicts 16 percent of Jordanian citizens over the age of 18; another 23.8 percent of Jordanians over 18 years old are also on the brink of becoming diabetics according to a study made in 2007 by the Heart and Capillary Disease Prevention directorate (HCDP) of the Ministry of Health; while the possibility of diabetes prevalence in Jordan is 30.5 percent among both children and adults.
Dr Myassar Zindah, person in charge of disease studies at HCDP, explained to The Star that “non- communicable diseases such as diabetes have become big health problems in Jordan due to the high percentages of victims. This is attributed to behavioral change among citizens regarding eating unhealthy foods and sugars; very low consumption of vegetables and fruits; lack of exercise; and smoking. The percentages of such diseases are therefore expected to increase in Jordan during the next couple of years unless real preventive measures were taken in time”.
Diabetes is caused when the body does not produce or properly use insulin which is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life; exact causes of diabetes continue to be a mystery, although both genetics and environmental factors such as obesity and lack of exercise appear to play a role.
Medical studies indicate that the number of diabetics worldwide is about 246 million which is 6 percent of the entire world’s population. Jordan comes in the second level with regards to diabetic prevalence in the Arab world. An expert on the US diabetic situation, Sa’ad Hassouneh, told The Star, “Acuteness of diabetes comes in its unclear syndromes; in the United States for example, there are 20.8 million diabetic children and adults, or 7 percent of the population; 6.2 million (or nearly one-third) of them are unaware that they have the disease due to the fact that diabetes is hard to detect; it affects both children and adults but is mostly more dangerous in overweight people.” He added, “It is also worth mentioning that many cases of diabetes are due to hereditary reasons.”
Dr Rashad Nasr, member of the Jordanian Association for Diabetic Care (JADC) and chief of the diabetic children club explained that diabetes is split into two types: Failure of the body to produce insulin; and resistance to insulin (a condition in which the body fails to properly use insulin), combined with relative insulin deficiency.
He said, “Symptoms of diabetes appear suddenly through anorexia, weight loss, frequent urination, thirst, lack of concentration and dizziness,” adding, “although it is a chronic disease, diabetic victims should follow a certain way of life in order to stay on the safe side, as otherwise serious ill effects of diabetes may cause dangerous results reaching up to blindness; we therefore recommend exercise, eating more vegetables, and to lose weight.”
Nasr explained the importance of child activity and general awareness among citizens of diabetes in which JADC seeks to play a role. He said, “We aim to draw attention to the dangers of the disease especially that children are still dying from diabetes due to different reasons, such as low financial abilities, lack of medical care, or lack of awareness.”
In light of the importance and wide prevalence of diabetes, an awareness campaign started last Saturday May 25 organized by JADC; the campaign was organized with the support of Arab Company for Pharmaceuticals, Al-Hikma group, and included a tour around the provinces of Maan and Aqaba as part of the plan targeting five provinces in order to find out the risks of the disease and the treatments available.
In a seminar held during the campaign, Dr Kamel Ajlouni, chief of the National Center for Diabetes, contended that doctors should balance their treatment methods by making the patients lose weight slowly without overstraining them, taking into consideration their financial abilities to afford the required medicines. He said, “If I were a decision maker I would have put the diabetes’ medicines along with drinking water.”
Ajlouni indicated that “the estimated cost for the treatment of diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and fats amount to about JD645 million annually.”
He also explained the possibilities of preventing diabetes, with its two kinds, saying, “Currently the first kind of diabetes is still not under control, while the second kind can be handled before appearing.”
For his part, Chairman of the Scientific Committee in JADC, Dr Nadeem Jarrah, said that scientific studies did not demonstrate a certain treatment for diabetes, as the matter depends on the nature of each patient’s body, which determines the sort of treatment. He said, “There are three different treatments the doctor may resort to, through three drugs in different periods of time depending on the case.”
Muhammad Zaheri, chief of JADC, called for a wide cooperation and planning to organize programs for confronting diabetes. “Its prevalence has become pandemic-like; the percentage of diabetics in the world is one of the highest percentages if not the highest.” ¦Diabetes: Fifth cause of death in Jordan Change of lifestyle helps