Women with diabetes only being treated when complications develop

About 7.1 million Pakistanis, who are 20 years of age or older suffer from diabetes. More women are dying, DUHS.

KARACHI: An equal number of men and women in Pakistan may have diabetes, but a considerably higher number of these women are dying of it because of complications, mainly renal failure, warned the director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology at Dow University of Health Sciences on Friday.

Prof. Zaman Shaikh was talking to journalists and referring to the recently published report of the International Diabetes Foundation. “Poverty, a lack of education or awareness and low social status attributed to women could be some of the factors contributory to these deaths,” he said.

Many of the women in the country are often barely conscious about the ailment and it is only when complications develop that they are referred to doctors. The disease incidence ratio in the country is 51:49 among men and women, respectively with 10% of the Pakistani population suffering from diabeties. About 7.1 million Pakistanis, who are 20 years of age and older suffer from diabetes.

Shaikh, who is also the secretary general of the international conference on diabetes, said the three-day meeting will begin in Karachi from December 10 and is being organised by the Diabetic Association of Pakistan and Dow University of Health Sciences.

The conference will be attended by experts from different countries, including Germany, Belgium, Australia, Gambia, Qatar, Egypt and India. The president-elect of the International Diabetes Federation, Sir Michael Hirst will also attend. So far 16 foreign experts have confirmed their participation.

The scientific programme of the moot will also include a special session for junior doctors and undergraduates to promote the culture of research among them.

Shaikh lamented that a majority of general practitioners in the country are unaware of modern treatment options for diabetes, and many of them do not know about new methods of administrating insulin. For example, now it is not necessary to administer insulin with a syringe as an inhaler can also be used.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th,  2011.