UAE residents with diabetes have been urged to exercise and not miss doctors’ appointments amid concerns over the global death of people with the condition.
About 40 per cent of people who have died from Covid-19 in the UAE were diabetic, officials said recently – about double the proportion expected if diabetics did not face increased risk of complications from the virus.
That is in line with figures from other countries, with studies indicating that people with Type 2 diabetes face roughly twice the risk of death from the virus, while those with Type 1 diabetes are more than three times as vulnerable.
Dr Raghib Ali, director of the Public Health Research Centre at New York University Abu Dhabi, said that while diabetics faced greater dangers from the coronavirus, there were also risks in spending prolonged periods at home in isolation.
People can have a bad outcome with diabetes because of the virus itself or it can make their diabetes control worse
“Diabetics do have a higher risk from the coronavirus – double the background risk," he said.
"But if you just stay at home, don’t exercise and eat more, you have a higher risk of obesity and your diabetic control getting worse with all the complications this can cause, and it can also adversely affect your mental health.
“It’s important to maintain a healthy diet and high levels of physical activity. It’s about being sensible and weighing up the risks and benefits.
“I would stress again to people to do their best to control their diabetes. You should not miss doctors’ appointments. If it’s well controlled, if they catch coronavirus, they will have a better outcome.”
As the pandemic continues, researchers are trying to understand how the coronavirus affects people with diabetes, who make up about 18 per cent of the UAE’s population.
In the UK, Prof Kathleen Gillespie at the University of Bristol is involved in a project to test thousands of people with Type 1 diabetes to determine how many have had Covid-19 and its impact on them.
“It is now clear that individuals with diabetes are at increased risk of complications of Sars-CoV-2 infection and there are also reports of increased numbers of diagnoses of Type 1 diabetes cases since the pandemic,” she said.
While the risks from the coronavirus go up with Type 1 diabetes, Prof Gillespie said the reasons behind it were not clear.
“We hope our study will help better understand this. Obesity is a known risk and it might be considered this might play a role in additional risk in individuals with Type 2 diabetes, but not those with Type 1,” she said.
“Our studies also include family members with Type 2 diabetes, so we will be able to learn more about Covid-19 in the two major forms of diabetes and work out if it increases risk in both in the same way.”
As well as often having impaired immunity, diabetics are more likely to be obese and to have high blood pressure, heart and kidney disease.
“There’s good data from studies that has shown the higher the number of co-morbidities, the higher the risk of death,” said Dr Ali.
“People can have a bad outcome with diabetes because of the [coronavirus] infection itself or the infection can make their diabetes control worse.”
By damaging the pancreas, coronavirus may worsen a person’s diabetes or even cause it in a person who did not have the illness.
At a recent press conference in Oman, the country’s health minister, Dr Ahmed Al Saidi, said the sultanate had seen cases of Type 1 diabetes that resulted from Covid-19.
A recent study in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology reported that people with diabetes were not at greater risk of actually catching the coronavirus, which contrasts with previous epidemics, where they were more likely to be infected.
People with diabetes should now be especially careful in maintaining good health, said Dr Ashar Jamal, an emergency doctor at Al Zahra Hospital in Sharjah, who was infected with Covid-19.
“They’re supposed to walk, they’re supposed to eat good meals, they’re supposed to control their diabetes so their immunity stays strong, so in case they get infected, their body is [able] to fight it off,” he said.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
More on animal trafficking
At a glance - Zayed Sustainability Prize 2020
Launched: 2008
Categories: Health, energy, water, food, global high schools
Prize: Dh2.2 million (Dh360,000 for global high schools category)
Winners’ announcement: Monday, January 13
Impact in numbers
335 million people positively impacted by projects
430,000 jobs created
10 million people given access to clean and affordable drinking water
50 million homes powered by renewable energy
6.5 billion litres of water saved
26 million school children given solar lighting
Tenet
Director: Christopher Nolan
Stars: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Kenneth Branagh
Rating: 5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Kibsons%20Cares
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERecycling%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3EAny%20time%20you%20receive%20a%20Kibsons%20order%2C%20you%20can%20return%20your%20cardboard%20box%20to%20the%20drivers.%20They%E2%80%99ll%20be%20happy%20to%20take%20it%20off%20your%20hands%20and%20ensure%20it%20gets%20reused%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EKind%20to%20health%20and%20planet%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESolar%20%E2%80%93%2025-50%25%20of%20electricity%20saved%3Cbr%3EWater%20%E2%80%93%2075%25%20of%20water%20reused%3Cbr%3EBiofuel%20%E2%80%93%20Kibsons%20fleet%20to%20get%2020%25%20more%20mileage%20per%20litre%20with%20biofuel%20additives%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESustainable%20grocery%20shopping%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ENo%20antibiotics%3Cbr%3ENo%20added%20hormones%3Cbr%3ENo%20GMO%3Cbr%3ENo%20preservatives%3Cbr%3EMSG%20free%3Cbr%3E100%25%20natural%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.3-litre%204cyl%20turbo%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E299hp%20at%205%2C500rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E420Nm%20at%202%2C750rpm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E10-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E12.4L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh157%2C395%20(XLS)%3B%20Dh199%2C395%20(Limited)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall