Thursday, 08 January 2009
updated 1 minute ago
05:05 UAE time

YOUR DIRECTORY /

Bahrain suffering diabetes crisis, says health official

by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Friday, 07 November 2008

INSULIN HELP: Bahrain is in the grips of a diabetes crisis, says a health official. (Getty Images)

More than a quarter of Bahrainis have developed type 2 or adult-onset diabetes, mainly caused by poor diet and overeating, a health official has revealed.

Twenty-seven percent have developed the illness while more than 1,000 children, aged below 15, have been diagnosed with juvenile type 1 diabetes, Health Ministry assistant under-secretary for training and planning Dr Fawzi Amin said.

"The high number of patients has turned diabetes into a major problem of national scale," he told Gulf Daily News on Friday.

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Type 1 diabetes is the second most common chronic disease among children after asthma while type 2 diabetes can lead to blindness, limb amputation, kidney failure, cardiovascular diseases and strokes, he added.

"Diabetes is a major cause for the sharp increase in school drop-outs and low productivity among employees. It also erodes government resources due to the high cost of treatment," he warned.

Bahrain Diabetes Society deputy chairperson Dr Mariam Hermes cited obesity and wrong eating habits as the main causes of juvenile diabetes.

Bahrain will join other countries to mark World Diabetes Day on November 14.

According to statistics released by the World Health Organisation, 250 million people are diabetic, a figures expected to rise to 380 million over the next 20 years.

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