• Home

Mind your cholesterol

Just hearing the words diabetes is enough to cause alarm, and not without good reason. According to the latest study carried out by specialists at Al Mafraq Hospital, more than a quarter of UAE citizens are diabetic. The figures show that 40 per cent of UAE nationals aged 60 and above suffer from diabetes.

In the Arab world, the majority of diabetics have high cholesterol levels which place them at higher risk of heart failure. The high level of "bad" cholesterol is the primary factor leading to heart problems in diabetics.

The lack of awareness about the impact that cholesterol has in diabetic patients is a growing concern among medical practitioners. Many patients are still unaware of the two kinds of cholesterol produced and absorbed by the body.

The liver-produced cholesterol forms only 50 per cent of the bad cholesterol, while the rest is produced by intestines. At this point, doctors in the UAE are focusing more on the liver-produced cholesterol only.

The lifestyle is the primary factor blamed for the steady rise in cholesterol related risks leading to diabetes and heart diseases. The sedentary lifestyle of the majority of UAE residents increases risks.

"People in the UAE are becoming more susceptible to heart diseases because of their lifestyle. The increasing popularity of fast food chains in the UAE is contributing to the high consumption of fatty foods," explained Dr Iman Fahed, a general practitioner at Euro Gulf Medical Center in Dubai.

Patients should understand what good and bad cholesterol are. Awareness about management of good and bad cholesterol could improve present dietary conditions and may bring about lifestyle changes.

The low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is called the bad cholesterol, can accumulate in the walls of arteries and may lead to heart attack and strokes. High levels of LDL cholesterol in the blood are a bad sign as they predispose a patient to heart attacks and stroke.

Meanwhile, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which is also known as the good cholesterol, helps remove LDL cholesterol from the plaques present in the walls of arteries. A high level of HDL is a good sign that the body is able to get rid of bad cholesterol.

"High LDL cholesterol levels and high blood sugar levels are two of the most common risk factors for heart disease which now affect many hundreds of millions of people worldwide," Dr. Fahed said.

Any person's total cholesterol should be under 200 to be within a normal range. Levels of HDL cholesterol should be above 40 while levels of LDL cholesterol should be less than 130, or less than 100 if that person already suffers from heart disease.

Dr Amel El Tayeb, an endocrinologist working at Dubai Hospital, explained that if proper and extensive information about the relation between diabetes and cholesterol is disseminated and both sources of cholesterol, from the liver and intestines, are equally well-managed, at least 400,000 lives in the UAE can be saved.

• UAE