'Cardiac disease No.1 killer of women in the world'

By PMA RASHEED The Gulf Today, 6 May 2011

Dubai: A quarter of all deaths in the UAE are caused by cardiovascular diseases (CVD), while globally 35 per cent of women are living with various cardiac disorders, according to a specialist cardiologist in Dubai.
Cardiovascular disease is still considered to be a man's disease, but it causes the death of almost the same number of women too.
Dr Nooshin Bazargani, Specialist Cardiologist at Dubai Hospital and Head of Emirates Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Group (ECDPG), revealed that out of the 17.5 million deaths from cardiovascular disease each year globally, over 8.6 million are women.
"It's more than the total number of women, who die from all cancers, tuberculosis, HIV-AIDS and malaria combined. The CVD is the number one killer of women in the world," she added.
Dr Bazargani was speaking at the second edition of "Go Red for Women" campaign, a global initiative to raise awareness about the risk of CVD among women, organised on Thursday at Deira City Centre in tandem with Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
According to her, most of these cardiovascular deaths could be avoided through awareness on effective change in life. "Their attitude should be modified towards adopting preventive measures on the major risks such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, high cholesterol level, unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle."
Dr Fahad Omar Ahmed S Baslaib, Head of Cardiology at Rashid Hospital and President of Emirates Cardiac Society, indicated that the risk factors for women are largely similar to men, including family history of the CVD, smoking, stress and other major reasons.
"However, some factors play a greater role in women than men. About 22 per cent of the UAE population dies due to cardiac problems. Half of them are women, who are either under-diagnosed or under-treated," he pointed out.
Dr Laila Al Jassmi, CEO of Health Policy and Strategy Sector at the DHA , said that lifestyle diseases can be prevented by following a balanced diet and healthy exercise patterns. "The number of women with the CVD highlights the magnitude of this problem."
Dr Arif Abdullatif Al Mulla, Head of Cardiology at Dubai Hospital, said: "Diabetic women suffer from the risk of chronic heart disease eight times more than non-diabetic women. In diabetic men, the risk is of cardiac disorders is only three times more than non-diabetic men."
"In women, the combination of oral contraception and consumption of up to 15 cigarettes per day is associated with a three to five fold increase in coronary risk, for women who smoke more than 15 cigarettes per day, the risk increases by twenty fold," he added.
"The post-menopausal state uniquely augments the risks of the CVD for women. Depression also increases the risk of the heart attack in women at 70 per cent. As twice as many women as men are depressed, this becomes a major risk factor for the sex," elaborated Dr Al Mulla.
The Gulf Race 1 gender analysis study, which was conducted in 2009 across six Gulf States to compare men and women who are admitted to the hospital with heart attacks, showed that cardiac diseases among locals and expatriates in these countries are equal. Whereas, 80 per cent of heart attack cases among women were of citizens and  expatriate women- 20 per cent.

Dr Bazargani noted the study had indicated that the outcome of the heart attack is more eventful in women than in men.
"This means women with heart attacks have more complications as compared to male patients. Women are more at higher risks of bleeding, heart failure (weakness of the muscle of the heart) and are more at a risk of death," she concluded.

‘Sedentary lifestyle stimulates diabetes’

BY PMA RASHEED
The Gulf Today, 14 Nov 2008

SEDENTARY lifestyle stimulates the diabetes prevalence among the younger generation in the UAE, warn experts.
Dr Muna Al Kawari, director of primary healthcare at the Ministry of Health, said: “Diabetes has become a seriously debilitating condition, afflicting the youth of the UAE. As the younger generation become increasingly accustomed to an inactive lifestyle, the potential for it to explode into an epidemic is rising.”
She was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of “Unite for Diabetes 2008″ campaign at Ibn Battuta Mall, in line with the global focus for world diabetes day on the World Diabetes Day. The largest diabetes-awareness drive in Dubai, supported by Dubai HealthCare City, aims at raising awareness about the condition of diabetes in children and adolescents in the city.
A spokesperson at Ibn Battuta mall said: “The UAE national football team members Adil Abdul-Aziz and Ismail Al-Hammadi from Al Ahli and Issa Ali and Majed Nasser from Al Wasl kicked off a string of fun charity activities with the first few rounds at the penalty shoot-out.”
“Dr Muna Al Kawari along with Nasser Al Budoor, assistant under secretary and director at the ministry of health, contributed the first two blue circles on the Ring of Hope which is in the running to become the world’s largest blue circle collage.
Each small blue circle is priced at Dhs10 and the mall is counting on public generosity to make the world record and raise a substantial amount for the diabetes department of the ministry of health,” added David Thurling, managing director at Nakheel shopping malls group.
“The first step towards raising diabetes awareness is to get as many people tested as possible. The more data we assimilate, the more we can understand the factors leading to its rise spread in the region and work towards a focused preventative approach,” said Advet Bambhani, CEO at Jebel Ali Hospital, the partner in the campaign.
“Free medical test, diabetic screening and nutritional consultations are offered for the customers and visitors at Ibn Battuta Mall throughout the five-day campaign. The campaign runs from Nov 10 to 15, with the activities open to the public from 3 pm onwards,” he added.

‘Arab societies more prone to genetic diseases’

BY PMA RASHEED
The Gulf Today, 23 Nov 2008

About 9,389 young UAE residents have undergone pre-marital medical tests in the country since last March. The campaign has shown that Arab societies are more prone to genetic diseases as they have the tradition of marrying close relatives, informed officials at the health ministry.
The pre-marriage health screening campaign has been launched by the UAE Ministry of Health (MoH) in last March, with clinics at all MoH healthcare centers across the UAE.
A spokesperson at MoH revealed the statistics that one child out of 25 is affected by hereditary diseases because of genetic disturbance in the first 25 years of his life. It includes mental retardation or physical handicap.
“Nine out of the 25 children would die early or would need especial care in hospitals or frequently. These diseases can be prevented only through pre-marriage screenings,” he added.
Humaid Mohamed Al Qutami, the UAE Minster of Health said, “All the couples who attended the MoH’s medical tests were given the results along with recommendations. A report was also issued to proceed with the marriage contract, if the results were normal. However, the procedures were not applicable for marriage contracts done outside UAE.”
“Screening tests for the marriage candidates covered hereditary diseases, blood disorders as well as diseases that need bacterial and viral screening tests and diseases like hepatitis, AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. Preventive treatments are provided through the medical tests and the process helped them detect all types of diseases, especially genetic disorders.”
“The MoH has also conducted counseling or educational campaigns to explain the steps to be taken if the test results were positive. Some cases were transferred to specialised clinics for further tests and others for follow-up treatments as per requirements. Vaccinations were given for diseases like German Measles and Hepatitis,” he added.
The medical report for marriage candidates is in line with the clause number 27 for 2005 of the Civil Law as per the remarks given by the court presidents in the UAE and the clinic centres for the pre-marriage tests at the UAE Ministry of Health.
The minister pointed out, “The MoH initiated the drive aimed at minimising social, psychological and economic consequences of genetic diseases that are passed on to children through marriage. The drive to raise the awareness among national and expatriate residents in the country on the importance of conducting tests before marriage. The authorities are keen to send the message that ignoring these tests is dangerous not only to the couples and their children, but also to the society as a whole.”
MoH conducted the pre-marital test campaign was conducted in co-operation with BinSina Pharmacy. Ahmed Al Khayyat, Managing Director of Alphamed Group, the parent company of BinSina, said, “The message is that simple medical screenings could help build a disease free marriage. The screening was mandatory and not an optional activity for the good of the couples and their children.”
“We distributed brochures to raise awareness about pre-marriage screening and motivating them to undergo the tests. These tests are done at specialised centres of the MoH across the country. Counseling is also provided to people undergoing the tests,” he added.
According to him, studies show that hereditary diseases and physical handicaps can be prevented through pre-marriage screening. Common diseases than can be prevented from being passed on to the next generation through screenings include Thalassemia, AIDS and tuberculosis.

50% UAE children face learning disabilities

BY PMA RASHEED
The Gulf Today, 24 Nov 2008

Up to 50 per cent of the UAE children’s suffer from poor learning disability and literacy skills, according to an expert.
Dr Chris Reynolds of the British Institute for Learning Development said as much as 25 per cent of the UAE’s school going children are not reading and writing at their chronological age-grade level. The figure may be even as high as 50 per cent.
Reynolds added, “The United Nations (UN) has reported that some 20 per cent of the UAE population is illiterate, not being able to meet the basic literacy standards of the UN. Literacy problem is probably much higher for children, and especially for those with poor learning habits.”
“However, the right intervention programme can increase the learning capacities of children with learning difficulties by an average of three grade levels in one year,” he pointed out.
“Among children with learning difficulties, 95 per cent of them have problems regarding literacy skills. Increasing literacy skills for the UAE children starts with first assessing children’s learning capabilities and then providing the right coaching to lift a child’s learning potential,” he added.
“The British Institute for Learning Development will release next week a report on its two-year study of children with learning difficulties. The Institute assesses the cognitive development of 62 children for two years.”
“Of the children assessed during the first and second years of the study, their cases showed an average increase of 16 per cent above expected norms in their neurological ability, or learning capacity, which directly impacts their academic potential,” Dr Reynolds said.