Guidelines launched for standardised treatment of diabetes across Pakistan

Around 7.5 million people have diabetes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while an equal number of people have prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are more than higher but not higher enough yet to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes, Pakistan Endocrine Society (PES) office-bearers said on Saturday.

"In Pakistan, people as young as 20 to 40 years are being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes due to sedentary lifestyle, consuming unhealthy diet, sugary drinks and physical inactivity," Dr Ibrar Ahmed, President of Pakistan Endocrine Society (PES) told a news conference here in Peshawar.

"In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone, around 7.5 million people are diabetics while equal number of people have prediabetes, which means they are going to contract diabetes soon if preventives measures are not taken by them."

Accompanied by Prof Dr AH Amir and other senior office bearers of Pakistan Endocrine Society (PES), Dr Ahmed said they launched the guidelines for the management of type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic syndrome in 35 cities across Pakistan to bring 'uniformity in treatment of diabetes' so that people living with diabetes could be prevented from disability and premature deaths.

"These guidelines have been prepared keeping in view the socio-economic conditions of Pakistan where majority of people can't afford expensive treatment and cost of expensive medicines. These guidelines with bring uniformity in treatment and help general practitioners and internists to effectively treat diabetes in a cost-effective manner", Dr Ahmed added.

He maintained that according to the latest guidelines prepared by the PES, diabetes could be treated with inexpensive medicines and lifestyle modification and added that doctors across Pakistan would be trained by the experts and consultants of the Pakistan Endocrine Society to treat patients in accordance with the latest guidelines.

Renowned diabetologist and patron of Pakistan Endocrine Society (PES) Prof AH Amir said the launch of guidelines for the treatment and management of type 2 diabetes is a step towards preventing disability and premature deaths among people living with type 2 diabetes.

"There are around 33 million people living with type 2 diabetes, and many of them don't have access to consultant diabetologists and endocrinologists. These guidelines with enable general practitioners, internal medicine physicians and young doctors to treat diabetes in accordance with international guidelines and the latest practices", Prof Amir said.

To a query, Prof Amir said studies have shown that diabetes can be reversed by losing 15 to 20 kilograms of weight but claimed that it was a gigantic task and only people with great willpower could manage to lose so much weight through lifestyle modification.

But with the help of medicines and lifestyle medication, diabetes could be controlled to prevent its complications, he added.

In his presentation on type 2 diabetes management guidelines, Dr Suleman Elahi Malik from Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar said diabetes could not be treated without educating the patients regarding lifestyle modification, which include consumption of low-calorie diet and 30-40 minutes exercise or physical activity daily.

"Diabetes is not like an infectious disease which can be treated with antibiotics alone. In order to control diabetes, one should modify his or her lifestyle by resorting to physical activity on daily basis, eat balanced and low-calorie diet and take medicines as directives of the physician", Dr Malik advised.

According to him, with the help of medical nutrition therapy, people living with diabetes could bring down their HbA1C by 2 percent within a short span of time and added that diabetics should be advised to have a quality sleep and stop smoking to remain fit and healthy.

Meanwhile, PES office-bearers, including its General Secretary Dr Fawad Ahmed Randhawa along with Dr Sadia Salman and others, launched the treatment guidelines for type 2 diabetes in Lahore, while renowned diabetologist Dr Ali Asghar launched the guidelines in Karachi.

Pakistan Endocrine Society (PES) specialists also held training sessions in different cities in Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan for general practitioners and others for the management of type 2 diabetes.