KARACHI, July 1: Speakers at seminar here on Saturday said that cases of diabetes and hypertension were on the rise in the country, which could be checked by bringing changes in an individuals' lifestyle.
The seminar was organised for family physicians at the National Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology (NIDE) of the DUHS at its Ojha campus. DUHS Vice-Chancellor Prof Masood Hameed Khan presided over the seminar.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Azhar Masood A Farooqui, Executive Director, NICVD, said that at present there were 120 million diabetes patients worldwide and the projected diabetic population in 2025 was over 300 million by 2025.
Discussing the clinical impact of diabetes, he said that it was causing a 2-4 fold increase in cardiovascular mortality; it was also a leading cause of new cases of end stage renal diseases. Diabetes is also a leading cause of new cases of blindness in working-aged adults and non-traumatic lower extremity amputation. The most common chronic health problem of the world today is hypertension, followed by diabetes, he added.
Highlighting the importance of diabetes control, Dr Syed Ishtiaq Rasool of the NICVD told the physicians that evidence was accumulating to show that tight blood sugar control in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.
Two-third of people with diabetes mellitus die of some form of heart or blood vessel diseases, he quoted from a report of the American Heart Association and Statistical Update, 2001. Estrogens do not seem to be CVD protective in pre-menopausal diabetic women, he remarked, adding that even at a young age, diabetic women have almost the same CVD risk as men with diabetes.
Prof Masood Hameed stressed the need of continued medical education programme for family physicians as well as for patients.
Prof M Zaman Shaikh, the project director of NIDE, Ojha Campus, said that at present Pakistan was number eight in the world and would become number 4 in 2025 as far as diabetic population size was concerned, after India, China and the United States.
Referring to some common misconceptions about diabetes, he said that strenuous exercise was not all necessary and only a half an hour brisk early morning-walk every day was enough. He said that all vegetables were good in diabetes because all contained fibres. People largely think that bitter vegetables with neutralise sweetness of diabetes diseases, which is incorrect, he added.
About the newly established NIDE, he said that the OPD had been made functional, while on the other hand a modern eye care centre had been established with the collaboration of Dowites'80 batch and soon laser therapy to prevent blindness in diabetes would commence there. Dr Mehwish Nisar also spoke.
