Diabetes epidemic sweeping the Arab world

Abstract

The prevalence of type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has increased dramatically during the last 2 decades, a fact driven by the increased prevalence of obesity, the primary risk factor for T2DM. The figures for diabetes in the Arab world are particularly startling as the number of people with diabetes is projected to increase by 96.2% by 2035. Genetic risk factors may play a crucial role in this uncontrolled raise in the prevalence of T2DM in the Middle Eastern region. However, factors such as obesity, rapid urbanization and lack of exercise are other key determinants of this rapid increase in the rate of T2DM in the Arab world. The unavailability of an effective program to defeat T2DM has serious consequences on the increasing rise of this disease, where available data indicates an unusually high prevalence of T2DM in Arabian children less than 18 years old. Living with T2DM is problematic as well, since T2DM has become the 5(th) leading cause of disability, which was ranked 10(th) as recently as 1990. Giving the current status of T2DM in the Arab world, a collaborative international effort is needed for fighting further spread of this disease.

Keywords: Arab world; Diabetes; Epidemiology; Etiology; Risk factors and complication.

Figures

Figure 1

Number of studies reviewed by title and/or abstract for each Arabic country.

Figure 2

Research scheme and exclusion criteria. T2DM: Type-2 diabetes mellitus; T1DM: Type-1 diabetes mellitus.