The head of Iran Diabetes Society (IDS) expressed concern over the increasing number of diabetic patients while noting that insurance companies “do not cover the expenses of preventive measures for the disease.”
Dr. Asadollah Rajab, speaking with ISNA, said over 10% of the country’s population which equals to almost 7 million suffers from diabetes.
The figure is 30% in the metropolises where people are at greater risk of getting diabetes because of wrong lifestyles. “In Tehran, for instance, 14% of the people are diabetic,” he noted.
Rajab emphasized the need to recognize the prevalence of the disease in the country and added “currently IDS supports and educates about 300,000 diabetic patients country-wide.
Urban Lifestyle
“To prevent the increasing numbers, there should be a change in behavior and life style, especially in the cities”, he stressed.
Urban life style brings about health issues such as inappropriate eating habits, lack of physical activities, constant dealing with stress, and etc. all of which increase the risk of diabetes. “People need to be informed and educated about maintaining a healthy lifestyle and manage stress,” Rajab asserted.
He also said smoking, obesity, and blood pressure are among other causes of diabetes.
On the biggest problem diabetic patients’ face, Rajab said: “From a social point of view, lack of accurate information about the disease is a major issue. Thus they, especially children, hide the disease from the people in fear of being treated badly or unfairly.”
Costs
Another major issue is the cost of treatment. A large part of the expenses do go to preventive measures and education of the patients. In addition, insulin syringes and blood sugar monitoring devices are not covered by insurance companies.
Rajab noted that insurance companies only cover the expenses for highly expensive medication or major surgeries – a heart surgery for instance - and added preventing diabetes costs much less.
