The number of diabetes cases reported at the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) has increased manifold over the past three years due to an increase in public awareness about the disease and the treatment facilities, says a senior official.
The National Diabetes Center at Hamad General Hospital (HGH) has seen a significant increase in the number of patients last year, and the figures have almost doubled in three years from 2013, when the Center became operational, according to Professor Abdul Badi Abou Samra, HMC’s Chairman of Internal Medicine.
He attributed this to an increased awareness about the services provided at the centers dedicated for diabetes treatment and an rise in referrals by hospitals and health centers.
“The National Diabetes Center at Hamad General Hospital was opened in 2013 and receives about 2,000 adult and 700 paediatric patients each month; this number has doubled during 2016. The National Diabetes Center at Al Wakra Hospital opened a year later, in 2014, and receives approximately 400 patient visits each month,” Professor Abdul Badi Abou Samra, HMC’s Chairman of Internal Medicine told The Peninsula.
These centers offers a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care and provide patients with improved access to specialised treatment. Patients can consult with specialist doctors and clinicians including endocrinologists,
Incidence of diabetes on the rise in country since 1990
Speaking about recent treatment methods and medicines introduced for patients with diabetes, Professor Abou Samra said, “The last few years have produced several novel medications which work by different mechanisms and which allowed optimization of treatment of diabetes. These include novel injectable analogues of insulin that are effective for a long time. They can be taken daily or weekly and can suppress appetite and result in slow stomach movement and facilitate better insulin action. There are also novel oral medications that allow glucose to be excreted in the urine, in addition to our old existing medications.”
“All these medications have side effects which should be taken into account when prescribed to an individual patient. There is no miracle medicine that cures diabetes, but there are very effective medicines that can control the disease,” he added.
Healthy food habits, daily physical activity, such as 30 minutes of active walking, stopping smoking, and treatment of associated conditions such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol are also major factors that help control diabetes.
According to International Diabetes Federation, there were 282,530 cases of diabetes in Qatar in 2013. Studies have shown that the incidence in Qatar has been rising since 1990 and this also holds true for children.
According to statistics, around 16 percent of Qatari population is diabetic and a new study to find the prevalence of the disease among citizens and expatriates is set to begin this year. Also a major link has been found between obesity and diabetes.
Studies show that that about 45 percent of people in Qatar are obese and 55 percent of diabetics are also obese.
