If introduced, the screening may give hope of early treatment to approximately over a million people living with diabetics in the UAE where the prevalence stands at 19.5 per cent.

The high prevalence of diabetes has placed the country second in the world while estimates say that the figures could touch 28 per cent by 2025. The ministry’s direct spending on the disease is Dh100-200 million per year.

The genetic screening project has been handed over to the American University Beirut which is expected to start a field survey and present a feasibility study to the ministry by February end.

“The implementation depends on the outcome of the feasibility study,” said Dr Mahmoud Fikri, Chief Executive Officer of Health Policy at the ministry. “If the study is feasible and is implemented in the UAE, it will help control and treat the condition in many people and especially those with a pre-disposition to diabetes,” he told Khaleej Times on Saturday.

Similar programmes have already been implemented worldwide, including the US where the American Diabetes Association rolled out a programme to test genetic susceptibility to Type 1 diabetes in 2002. The programme has prevented some of the most severe effects of the disease such as blindness, kidney failure and neurological damage in those with the disease, say experts.

“We are waiting for the university to deliver something similar here as well,” added Dr Fikri. The university will also submit a report on the presence and treatment of other metabolic disorders in newborns.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com