Emiratis needed to complete diabetes study
dubai — Several Emiratis are needed to complete ongoing diabetes studies that will help pave policies to fight the disease in the future,” health officials have said.
Emirati nationals are hesitant to take part in such studies due to cultural barriers. For this reason, officials are unable to meet the required sample numbers.
One major national study on diabetes is short of atleast 1,000 people to take part while another being undertaken by the Dubai Health Authority also needs 900.
“We are having some difficulty meeting the required sample number for the study,” said Professor Nabil Sulaiman, head of Family and Community Medicine and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Sharjah who is heading the research team. Estimates say that 35 per cent of the UAE population is at risk of becoming diabetic in the next 10 years.
sharjah — University Hospital Sharjah (UHS) has added vascular surgery to the list of world class services that it offers to patients, under the supervision and consultation of leading doctors and experts in the UAE and internationally.
UHS has the facilities to match the best in the developed countries and is gearing up to further expand its medical services.
“The UHS has been successful in saving lives and improving the quality of life for many patients,” said consulting vascular surgeon at the UHS Dr Amit Kumar.
He advised patients to check their feet every day, or ask a family member to look at their feet, and report even a small cut to their primary care doctor.
The surgeon — who is also clin- ical assistant professor, surgery, Columbia University, New York — said, “A small wound can fester, and one thing leads to another.”
He cited the recent case of a 65-year-old-man, diagnosed with a bad infection of the foot and was told that the leg would have to be amputated below the knee. “We saved the foot and he is now walking around,” said Dr Kumar.
Diabetes is a rapidly spreading metabolic disease in the UAE and the globe. Healthcare authorities are alarmed at the advance of the disease that affects more than 1.7 million people in the UAE.
Dr Amit said every month he has 450 patient visits suffering from diabetes, stroke, DVT (deep vein thrombosis, or clot formation in the vein) and aneurysms (enlargement of the blood vessel). “DVT is another vascular disease that is severely undiagnosed,” said Dr Kumar.