Kuwait: Following a healthy lifestyle -- based on research, medical protocols, and a balanced exercise-nutrition regiment -- lowers the risk of diabetes, said health experts on Monday.
Speaking to KUNA a day ahead of the World Diabetes Day on November 14, Dasman Diabetes Institute Director Dr. Qais Al-Duwairi indicated that diabetes research in Kuwait had reached a point where numerous medical disciplines were put together to better counter diabetes providing hope for many who suffer from this illness.
New research, which began in 2022, focused on the chemical, immune, and genetic factors causing diabetes, said Al-Duwairi, noting that finding early signs of the illness helped individuals to better assess the situation and implement viable countermeasures.
Those who suffered from diabetes unknowingly could also benefit from the Dasman Institute's research, he indicated, adding that studies on the matter were published in 93 scientific articles.
Dr. Al-Duwairi commended the cooperation with other institutes in formulating diabetes research and countermeasures in Kuwait including Kuwait University (KU), the Ministry of Health, and others.
The Dasman Institute is the only organization in the Middle East that provided the DAFNE (DDI) program, a mechanism geared towards the nutritious and insulin needs of those suffering from type-1 diabetes, he noted.
The official touched on the impact of education in the battle against diabetes, revealing that in 2022, there was a decrease by 60 percent in type-1 diabetic cases as well as a reduction by eight percent in accumulative sugar levels for those suffering from this type.
He affirmed that 50 percent of patients following the 2022 Dasman Institute diabetes protocol managed to decrease dependency on medication by 50 percent.
Dr. Al-Duwairi also pointed out that the percentage of diabetic patients in Kuwait had reached 25.5 percent according to recent statistics.
On his part, an endocrinology consultant at Sabah Hospital Dr. Zaidan Al-Mazidi said that diabetes amongst children was on the rise, indicating that 41 out of 100,000 cases annually were diagnosed with diabetes, especially amongst children under 14.
Type-1 diabetes, which is dependent on insulin, is rampant among children and unfortunately, there are high numbers of children suffering from that in Kuwait, said Dr. Al-Mazidi.
He indicated that several factors led to type-1 diabetes amongst children including genetics and sometimes, certain viruses.
He added that symptoms of the disease included extreme thirst, frequent need to urinate, hunger, severe weight loss and fatigue, behavioral shifts, and fruity-smelling breath, which are all indicators that parents should take their children and get them checked.
Diabetes could lead to cardiovascular disease, nerve damage, kidney failure, eye problems, immune deficiency, and Osteoporosis, he indicated.
Dr. Al-Mazidi's colleague and endocrinology consultant Dr. Adel Redha spoke about gestational diabetes, which occurs during pregnancy.
If left without supervision and medication, women could develop type-2 diabetes, he said, stressing that it was important to maintain a healthy lifestyle during and after pregnancy to avoid this ailment.
According to WHO estimation and data, the number of diabetics increased from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. Early deaths due to diabetes increased by three percent in 2000-19. The number of deaths in 2019 reached two million. - KUNA