Doctors urge early screening as 34.5 million adults live with diabetes

Doctors called for earlier diabetes screening on World Diabetes Day, citing an estimated 34.5 million adults in Pakistan living with the disease and 9.3 million who have it without knowing.

At a media briefing at Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, specialists said the number could reach 70.2 million by 2050 if effective preventive measures are not taken, Bol News reported.

Dr Asma Ahmed, a consultant endocrinologist at the hospital, said Type 2 diabetes was no longer limited to older adults and that younger people were increasingly being diagnosed. She named family history, excess abdominal fat and physical inactivity as major risk factors, and said people of apparently healthy weight should not assume they are protected.

She cited Aga Khan University's Pakistan Diabetes Prevention Research Project, which gave lifestyle guidance to people with prediabetes, the condition in which blood sugar is above normal but below the diabetes range. According to the findings, 61 per cent of participants who adopted lifestyle changes returned to normal blood sugar levels within one year.

Dr Fareed Ahmed Shaikh, assistant professor and head of the vascular surgery department at the hospital, said diabetes affects blood circulation and the nervous system, and that reduced blood flow and loss of sensation in the legs and feet can stop patients noticing minor injuries. Untreated wounds can become serious infections or ulcers, and in some cases cost a patient a foot or a leg. He advised patients to examine their feet regularly.

Farah Syed, a senior nutritionist at the hospital, said a diagnosis did not mean patients had to give up favourite foods or follow severely restrictive diets. She recommended balanced meals, portion control, more vegetables, lentils and whole grains, and fewer sugary drinks, and said dietary change worked best when it became part of everyday life.

UrduPoint reported that the International Diabetes Federation counted about 589 million adults aged 20 to 79 with diabetes worldwide in 2024, a figure projected to reach 853 million by 2050, and that Pakistan carries a particularly high share of that burden.

Dr Aslam Awan, a general physician, listed unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, obesity and heavy consumption of sugary drinks as the main drivers of Type 2 diabetes. He advised maintaining a healthy weight, a diet rich in vegetables and whole grains, limits on sugar and processed food, and regular exercise, and said people with a family history of diabetes or obesity should be screened regularly.

Dr Saleem Jawad said Type 2 diabetes can go undetected for years because early symptoms are few or absent. He listed excessive thirst, frequent urination, unexplained fatigue, blurred vision, slow-healing wounds and recurrent infections as warning signs, and named fasting blood sugar and HbA1c tests as the way to diagnose the disease and identify those at risk.

Dr Fahd Khan warned that poorly controlled diabetes can damage the heart, kidneys, eyes and nerves and lead to diabetic foot problems. According to UrduPoint, the doctors said Type 1 diabetes cannot currently be prevented, while Type 2 can often be prevented or delayed through healthy eating, exercise and weight management, and they cautioned against stopping prescribed medicines or relying only on home remedies.