22nd November 2015, Dubai, UAE: Dr. Michael’s Dental Clinic’s team joined over 17,000 participants last Friday at the Beat Diabetes Walk at Zabeel Park.
Gulf News reports that the event organized by the Landmark Group raised almost Dh350,000 and the proceeds will be donated to Al Jalila Foundation, a Dubai-based philanthropic organization that promotes medical education and research.
According to the International Diabetes Foundation, there were 803,900 cases of diabetes in UAE in 2014. There are more than 37 million people in the MENA Region who have diabetes and by 2035 this will rise to 68 million.
What do we know about diabetes?
Here are some data from the World Health Organization.
- Diabetes is a chronic, metabolic disease characterized by elevated levels of blood sugar, which leads over time to serious damage to the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys, and nerves.
- The most common is type 2 diabetes, usually in adults, which occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin or doesn't make enough insulin. Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin by itself.
- In 2014, 9% of adults 18 years and older had diabetes.
- In 2012, diabetes was the direct cause of 1.5 million deaths. More than 80% of diabetes deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
- Diabetes increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. In a multinational study, 50% of people with diabetes die of cardiovascular disease (primarily heart disease and stroke).
- Diabetes is among the leading causes of kidney failure.
- The overall risk of dying among people with diabetes is at least double the risk of their peers without diabetes.
