PREDIABETES IS ON THE RISE IN THE UAE
While prediabetes is not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes, unless some immediate lifestyle changes are made, it likely will develop into type 2 diabetes. HEALTH speaks with Dr. Ihsan Al Marzooqi, Emirati Digital Therapeutics entrepreneur to learn more.
DEFINED
According to Dr. Al Marzooqi, prediabetes is a serious health condition caused by the body not responding in the normal way to insulin produced by the pancreas. “Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone that lets blood sugar into cells to use as energy,” he says, and prediabetes usually occurs in people who have some insulin resistance or whose cells aren’t making enough insulin to keep blood Oct/Nov 2021
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glucose within the normal range. A prediabetic patient’s blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He adds, “Eventually, without enough insulin, the extra glucose stays in the bloodstream and over time can develop into type 2 diabetes.”
IN THE UAE
With no clear symptoms in the early stages, he points out that prediabetes can go years
without ever being detected and it’s currently affecting around 1.2 M people in the Emirates. “Prediabetes is rising in the region and the number of people impacted is alarming,” he tells, and this silent health crisis is affecting almost 15 percent of the UAE’s population; it’s most prevalent among UAE nationals, with around 19 percent of Emiratis and 15 percent of expatriates living with the condition.
