Date:08/02/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/02/08/stories/2005020812500600.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Zeroing in on diabetes prevention

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, FEB. 7. Preventing diabetes: that is the theme for the upcoming world congress in the city. The World Health Organisation, one of the sponsors of the three-day event starting February 11, will use the occasion to present its technical report and launch a global prevention campaign.

The congress is expected to draw more than 1,000 delegates, of whom 200 are from 37 foreign countries.

Until now the focus was on secondary prevention when diabetics were treated for complications and management of the problem. The trend now is to prevent diabetes among the high-risk group at the pre-diabetic stage, said A. Ramachandran, organising chairman of the congress.

Mr. Ramachandran will present a paper on a prevention study done in India. Similar studies have been undertaken in North America, Finland, Canada and China. The study includes a diabetes score with details such as family history, obesity (body mass index) and circumference of the waist. The score is used to determine a person's susceptibility to diabetes.

Issues such as diabetes-related complications to the eyes, kidney and foot, prevention opportunities and pregnancy-induced diabetes will be among the 55 papers that will be presented at the congress.

One of the co-organisers, the U.S.-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention, has sponsored eight persons with grass roots information on diabetic health care delivery.

Others sponsoring the meet include the Royapuram-based Diabetes Research Centre and the International Diabetes Federation of Belgium.