MSD App to support Type 2 diabetics patients who fast during Ramadan
KUWAIT: Recently MSD a leading pharmaceutical company, launched its diabetes awareness campaign, aimed at tackling the issue of Muslims with Type 2 diabetes who choose to fast during Ramadan. Despite the serious health risks that fasting could pose to diabetics, research shows that more than 50 million people with diabetes continue to fast during Ramadan against the advice of healthcare professionals.
As part of their initiative to understand the best ways to support diabetics who choose to fast, MSD undertook a study assessing 1,066 patients in 43 clinical centers across the Middle East. Recognizing the critical role that healthcare professionals play in providing advice to diabetics who fast, in 2011 MSD launched a campaign to promote greater awareness, supporting diabetics that made the decision to fast. A big part of this awareness campaign, included the development of a new information kit specifically designed to give healthcare professionals further tools, to help them in supporting their diabetic patients in deciding whether they will fast.
The information kit which was based on a study that was published in the International Journal of Clinical Practice, showed that patients with Type 2 Diabetes who chose to fast during Ramadan and were taking JANUVIA (sitagliptin) experienced less hypoglycaemia than patients taking a sulphonylurea (SU). In addition, the relative risk of symptomatic hypoglycemia was significantly lower in patients treated with sitagliptin versus patients treated with SUs. In 2012, this campaign was further built upon with the introduction of an MSD commissioned cookbook, which was specifically designed for Arab diabetics, offering them healthier alternatives to the traditional Arab recipes they know and love.
This year, as part of their ongoing commitment to supporting diabetics that choose to fast, MSD is introducing a new and innovative tool; the Ramadan App. Developed specifically for Apple devices, the app will offer patients immediate access to the information kit “Facts About Fasting” as well as providing them with an important tool, the blood sugar tracker, enabling fasting diabetics to record their glucose levels throughout the holy month, for discussion with their healthcare provider. The app will also offer a Ramadan Calendar and prayer compass, as well as a tool that alerts users to the times of prayers.
The App which will be accessible through the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch is expected to support more than 20 percent of the population who already suffer from diabetes and can be downloaded for free via iTunes App Store. Talking their decision to launch this app Mazen Altaruti, Managing Director of MSD Gulf said, “Hypoglycaemia is a condition that can greatly impact the lives of people with Type 2 Diabetes and a common problem faced by diabetics who fast. Diabetes can result in serious complications and even death when not properly managed. In fact it is estimated that in 2012, more than 1,000 Kuwaiti citizens died as a result of diabetes and its complications. To be able to create an app that not only uniquely caters to the needs of fasting diabetics but also addresses the need to innovate and provide an option that is suitable to the needs of patients on the go, is something we are extremely proud of.
If we are to truly start addressing the growing prevalence of diabetes in Kuwait, we must do more than simply raise awareness of the risks that uncontrolled diabetes can lead to be. This year by introducing this app we have gone a step further by providing a tool which will help patients and healthcare professionals in communicating with each other more effectively and significantly support physicians in providing their patients with educated advice on how to best manage this disease.” Discussing the potential dangers that Kuwaiti diabetics could face when fasting please Mazen Al-Taruti, said, “For people with Type 2 Diabetes, decreased food intake, increased exercise, along with certain diabetes medications, are well-known risk factors for hypoglycaemia.
If left untreated, it can lead to serious medical problems including loss of consciousness, convulsions and seizures, which require emergency treatment.” “Obesity, coupled with increased sedentary lifestyles and lower levels of physical activity are known to be the major reasons for the development and exacerbation of Type 2 Diabetes. With the Ramadan App, Kuwaiti diabetics will have a better opportunity to maintain a healthy and balanced diet, allowing them to better manage their weight and reduce the possibility of diabetes-related complications which obese diabetics are at increased risk of developing.” Al Taruti continued MSD’s study marks the first research conducted in the Middle East for people fasting during Ramadan and is a crucial part of the company’s philosophy that raising awareness can reduce the prevalence of serious diseases like diabetes. Currently, more than 362,000 Kuwaiti citizens are thought to suffer from diabetes. According to the latest IDF figures, if prevalence continues to increase at current rates, this figure will have almost doubled by 2030 to reach more than 648,000 citizens.
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