• DIABETES KILLS MORE PEOPLE THAN AIDS

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KUWAIT: Every 17 seconds a person in the world is diagnosed with diabetes, it kills more people than HIV/AIDS and breast cancer combined, and an estimated 183 million people are unaware that they have diabetes.

Diabetes is rife in Kuwait. The true incidence is not accurately known but what is certain is the fact that it is one of the highest in the world. It transcends race, gender, age and social status. Most of the sufferers are unaware of its presence or unable to deal with it due to scarcity of symptoms, their commitments at work linguistic and cultural inhibitions and an apparent aversion of the health care system.

Diabetes is a serious life time condition which creates enormous burden on the patients and the health care system and is a leading cause of loss of days from work disability, and death. One of the most alarming elements is the increasing incidence amongst adolescents and young children.

This collaborative effort with Kuwait Times is designed to create a ‘community of awareness’ for all residents irrespective of being citizens or expatriates. One of the key duties of an enlightened media is to play its far reaching role in engaging the community it serves and with this column is designed to achieve this, of course with the feedback and active participation of our community. We shall endeavor to highlight all medical issues related to chronic diseases like polycystic ovaries, osteoporosis, vitamin D deficiency and diabetes, especially in pregnancy, adolescents and different populations within Kuwait.

By Dr Kashif Rizvi

Reference: Kuwait Times