Qatar seeks to transform diabetes care with the whole nation project & # 39;

In a mundane office in a Doha hospital, a study is underway, which could transform the way Qatar treats one of its most persistent health problems, diabetes.

A small team led by Professor Khalid Hussain has been enrolled since last year in a national database of young people under 18 with diabetes, which he says is unique in the region and perhaps even in the world.

"What we want is to recruit all diabetic children from Qatar into our research project," said Hussain, who leads the project from his office in the Sidra Medical Complex in the capital.

The goal? Determine how many children in the small emirate of the Gulf suffer from chronic illness, identify the type and adjust the treatment accordingly.

"By understanding the different types … we are really making a difference in the lives of patients," says Hussain.

One in three obese

Diabetes, a disease characterized by high blood sugar levels in the body, is widespread worldwide.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people with the disease has increased from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014.

The Gulf region, including Qatar, is no exception.

Poor eating habits, sugary drinks and lack of physical activity, as well as marriage and genetics among families, have all been cited as reasons for the prevalence of diabetes in the region.

According to a WHO study conducted in 2017, 72% of Qatari adults are currently overweight and 34% are suffering from obesity.

The study of Professor Hussain hopes to determine overall diabetes rates in Qatar and establish the breakdown between types 1 and 2.

With type 1, usually diagnosed during childhood, the body destroys the pancreatic cells that create insulin, the hormone that controls the blood sugar level.

In type 2, caused by lifestyle and genetics, the body produces insulin but not enough.

This second form of disease is closely related to obesity and can, over time, lead to blindness, kidney damage and heart disease or stroke.

Weill Cornell Medicine researchers predict that type 2 diabetes in Qatar will rise from about 17% of the population to about 24% by 2050.

"Let's hope we'll know by mid-2019 how many children in this country have diabetes and what types they have," said Hussain.

"As a clinician, what's most important to me is if I know what kind of diabetes kids have."

Thus, he will be able to "adapt their treatment", he adds.

According to Hussain, no less than 1,200 diabetic children – Qataris and expatriates – should participate in the project. The first results should be published around July.

More needles

The small size and immense wealth of Qatar contribute to make possible the study of Professor Hussain.

He added that only "Norway and Sweden" had made similar attempts to obtain a "complete picture".

His office may be modest, but it is part of Sidra's vast medical center, worth $ 8 billion, and overlooks 14 giant bronze sculptures by artist Damien Hirst, tracing the moment of conception at birth, a testimony of the riches of Qatar.

Zain al-Yahri organizes weekly diabetes camps, unrelated to the Sidra study, to help children cope with the disease.

He says that diabetes has not only an impact on children but also on their parents.

"A lot of kids here, especially in Qatar or the Middle East, when their kids become diabetic, parents feel like they have dropped out," Yahri said.

Ali Mohamed Ali Alazba, eight years old, lives in the camp.

"I have two brothers bigger than me who are diabetic," he says.

"So, at home, we have three people with diabetes."

Back in Sidra, Professor Hussain said his study was already having an impact.

After talking with AFP, he was about to tell a 15 year old patient that he would no longer need insulin injections – "that he hates" – and that he would rather use oral medications to manage his diabetes.

"If we can start working on them early, identify them now and prevent them from developing diabetes in adulthood, we will have achieved something," he says.

© 2019 AFP