Professor Larry Distiller, executive chairman of the Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology (CDE) says there is an urgent need to address diabetes. Diabetes remains the most common cause of blindness in the Western World, the leading cause of kidney failure, dialysis and transplantation and the most common factor in lower limb amputations. It is also a major cause of acute hospitalisation. Distiller says that good management of diabetes has the potential to reduce acute hospitalisation rates by 85%, eye complications and renal failure by 60% and amputation rates by over 80%. “The potential cost savings run into billions of Rands.”
Currently, almost 1 in 11 of the world population has diabetes and this is increasing. “The largest increase will be in developing countries, where diabetes is expected to double in the next 15 years. South Africa has the highest number of adults living with diabetes in Africa,” he says.
The reason why these numbers matter, says Distiller, is that the diagnosis of diabetes confers a massively increased risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Diabetes is linked closely to the other well-known risk factors for heart disease and death, namely high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity.
“79% of those dying from diabetes in developing countries are under the age of 60 years, just when these people should be in their most economically productive years. Apart from the personal and emotional trauma caused by early death, the potential effect on the economy is immeasurable,” Distiller adds.
Some of the topics to be covered at the Forum by top experts will include Revolutionising diabetes management by Dr Sundeep Ruder; Making a difference – treating hypertension in type 2 diabetes by Prof Brian Rayner and some therapeutic conundrums looking at the intersection between diabetes and infectious disease by Prof Dinky Levitt, basal insulin and GLP1 agonists – the new answer for glycaemic control by Dr Adri Kok and whether hypoglycaemia is a real issue in insulin treated patients by Prof Mak Omar.
