Proper control of diabetes can prevent, or delay, the long-term complications, said Professor Masood Hameed Khan, Vice Chancellor of Dow University of Health Sciences. He further said that there is need for concerted and co-ordinated efforts towards preventing of diabetes and minimising the consequences of the disease at patient, community and government levels.
Speaking at news conference organised by National Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology (NIDE) in collaboration with Diabetic Association of Pakistan (DAP), he said that insulin is a very sensitive medicine and should be stored in 4 to 8 degrees temperature. The place where insulin is to be kept must have temperature control system.
Professor Samad Shera, President of Diabetic Association of Pakistan, said that diabetes is preventable through changes in the patient's lifestyle. The patient should opt for doing regular physical exercises and normalising the blood glucose and monitoring the disease, he said, adding that diabetes is the major manifestation of cardiovascular diseases.
Professor Zaman Shaikh, Director of National Institute of Diabetes and Endocrinology, said that the prevalence rate of diabetes mellitus in Pakistan is very high. It is around 10 percent in adult population. The high figures of overall prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance (diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance), 20.5 percent in women and 15.9 percent in men, are alarming. He further said that there are many misconceptions about insulin therapy in diabetes. He said that insulin is essential not only for health of diabetics, but is also needed to save life of so many diabetics, especially for persons with type 1 diabetes.