DUBAI: The First American Diabetes Association Middle East congress in Dubai yesterday points to an increased risk of heart disease in women who suffer from diabetes. Heart disease is the most common complication of this condition.

Diabetic women at a higher risk of heart disease: shown here, blood sugar level testing

In the UAE itself, diabetes is particularly common, at more than 20 percent (another 18 percent are considered of ‘high risk’).

Although heart disease is perceived as a male disease, the impact of diabetes is significant and warrants careful monitoring. (Usually, a woman has protective hormones, however with diabetes, this outweighs that benefit).

The implication is that medical health practitioners should engage in patient education of female diabetic patients to highlight the risk of heart disease, and inform governmental level messages that seek to reduce the kind of high-sugar diet that leads to the development of diabetes.