Diabetes: The bitter truth

On World Health Day — with its theme as diabetes — looks at the seriousness of the killer disease and tries to create awareness on how prevention is better than cure

dubai — Ten-year-old Leeza Ann George has a daily routine that differs from most children her age. But it doesn’t stop her from leading the same life as most children her age.

Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes one month before her seventh birthday, doctors informed Leeza’s mother that she would have to inject insulin four times a day as well as check her blood glucose levels regularly.

“Pricking her with a needle 7-10 times a day was not at all easy at first,” her mother, Indu Issac, told Khaleej Times.

But on day three, Leeza was given an ultimatum.

“I told her I would only help with her injections for one week. I said if she wanted to go to her friends’ parties and lead a normal life she would have to take charge of her condition and be independent.”

And believe it or not, the Delhi Private School, Sharjah, student was excited to take the reins.

Now injecting herself four times each day at home and at school, Indu said Leeza is so independent, and loves raising awareness about her condition.

“She shows her friends how she takes the injections and tells them about diabetes. Essentially, she’s a show off,” laughed Indu.

As a mother of a child with diabetes, she said the most important thing that keeps her “at ease” is Leeza’s ability to “own her diabetes”.

“She takes care of herself. All parents in my situation should encourage their child to become independent. Try and teach them to self-inject within one month of diagnosis or he/she will never be able to self-manage the condition.”

Childhood diabetes

With no database in the UAE outlining the exact number of children living with diabetes here, one thing is clear: the number is rising.

On World Health Day today, diabetes is being put under the spotlight.

This month, WHO released the first Global report on diabetes, and according to the UAE’s country

The smart and independent 10-year-old Leeza hasn’t let her age get in the way of taking control of her condition.

profile, eight per cent of the population is now classed as diabetic — that’s more than 800,000 people.

About 422 million people worldwide have diabetes, a number likely to double in 20 years.

Type 2 accounts for around 90 per cent of all cases worldwide and alarmingly, reports of Type 2 diabetes in children have increased too — though Type 1 is still the most common in this age group.

Dr Venkiteswaran Ramanathan, Medical Director and Consultant in Paediatrics, Aster Hospital Mankhool, said studies suggest that prevalence of Type 1 diabetes in children in the UAE has “doubled in the last 15 years”.

“It is difficult to quantify the number because there is no database in the UAE on this, but they are starting to do a registry of Type 1 paediactric patients here. All we know is that the number is increasing.”

We need to teach our children to eat sensibly and exercise regularly. These allow the bodyweight to stay healthy,”

Dr Venkiteswaran Ramanathan

For Type 1 paediatric patients, the bi-modal peak is 4-6- and 10-14-years-old.

In Type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin. But with the help of insulin therapy and other treatments, young children can learn to manage their condition and live long and healthy lives, like Leeza.

Looking at the genetic risk factors of Type 1 diabetes, a child will have a 2-3 per cent chance of developing the disease if the mother has diabetes. This rises to 5-6 per cent if the father has the disease, and 30 per cent if both parents are affected.

Geographically, studies have found that breastfed infants have a lower risk of developing the disease. “That is all the more reason to promote breastfeeding in this region. It is just a coincidental finding at the moment but it is an observation worth taking heed of,” he said.

Though Type 1 diabetes is noted as a chronic, non-reversible disease, awareness needs to be stepped up when it comes to preventative measures for Type 2 diabetes.

This is most often seen in overweight children, and occurs more

She shows her friends how she takes the injections and tells them about diabetes. Essentially, she’s a show off.

Indu Issac, Leeza’s mother

—Supplied photo in puberty, girls, and mostly in the South Asian community where a family history is present.

“We need to teach our children to eat sensibly and exercise regularly. These allow the bodyweight to stay healthy,” Dr Ramanathan said.

A study conducted in the UAE in 2014 indicated that higher BMI percentile among children is directly associated with higher blood pressure levels which can bring about chronic conditions such as diabetes.

The combined figure for overweight and obese children in the UAE accounted for about 20 per cent of children aged 6 to 10 and 40 per cent aged 11 to 19.

Thankfully, only 10 per cent of paediatric diabetes cases are accredited to Type 2. Therefore, so early detection is key to keeping this figure down.