To coincide with the launch of its all-in-one health and wellbeing patient support app, AstraZeneca has shared results from a recent UAE survey which reveals that three in five UAE residents are worried about managing diabetes post-pandemic.
According to the International Diabetes Federation almost 1 in 10 people suffer from diabetes globally. In the UAE, it is reported that 1 in 6 people living with the disease.
In the MENA region, the number of adults with diabetes is expected to reach 95 million by 2030 and 136 million by 2045.
Managing diabetes is a concern for many and has been exacerbated by the difficulties faced during the pandemic, with 60% of respondents citing that diabetes management during the pandemic has been ‘challenging’.
More than half (59%) of the respondents reported struggling with maintaining a healthy diet, while 70% reported being worried about diabetes complications. Additionally, 69% said they were worried to visit medical facilities due to the pandemic.
Research was conducted by a YouGov omnibus survey with a sample size of 380 respondents in the UAE with diabetes during December 2021.
AstraZeneca launches mobile health and well-being app
AstraZeneca has launched its health and well-being app Health Gate to support patients with chronic conditions such as cancer, heart failure, kidney disease, and diabetes.
As part of AstraZeneca’s commitment to empower patients to lead heathier lives in the UAE, the company has designed Health Gate to help making chronic health conditions easier to manage.
The mobile application – available in Arabic and English – will support patients in managing tele-health appointments, carry out routine tests at home, send and track dose reminders, and calculate body mass index in an easily manageable way.
It also provides health and lifestyle advice and a library of meal recipes written by health and medical experts.
Commenting on the launch, the medical director at AstraZeneca GCC, Dr Eva Turgonyi (above), said: “Diabetes is a serious public health burden in the UAE which affects 1 in 6 people. The survey has highlighted that patients often find it overwhelming and time-consuming to manage their condition. Common challenges include lack of access to structured information, fear of insulin injections and fear of developing hypoglycaemia.
“With 80% of respondents expressing they would use a diabetes management app to support them, we believe Health Gate is a unique addition to the digital health management tools currently available and will further empower patients in the UAE to lead fuller, healthier and happier lives.”
In collaboration with Gendius, a UK MedTech company which specialises in AI technology for diabetes management, Health Gate uniquely uses Gendius’ AI-powered Intellin platform to monitor patients’ diabetes vitals and management of their condition and highlights their risk for developing diabetes-related complications, such as cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, amputation, and blindness.
Its algorithms analyse users’ health and well-being data to provide individually tailored, validated educational content and guidance, to help people with diabetes manage their condition more effectively.
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